theindependent--2019-05-14--Man makes deepest ocean dive ever - only to find plastic rubbish on the sea floor

An American explorer has completed the deepest ocean dive in history – and discovered plastic waste littering the sea floor 6.8 miles down.  Victor Vescovo’s submarine descended 35,853ft (10,928m) to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, the most remote place in the seas.  The retired naval officer found undiscovered species including shrimp-like anthropods and translucent “sea pigs” during four hours exploring the sea bed.  He also saw manmade rubbish – including a plastic bag, sweet wrappers and angular metal objects - in a place no human had ever been before.  "It was very disappointing to see obvious human contamination of the deepest point in the ocean," Mr Vescovo said.  Plastic waste has reached epidemic proportions in the world's oceans, with an estimated 100 million tonnes dumped in the sea, according to the United Nations.  Scientists have found large amounts of micro plastic in the guts of deep-dwelling ocean mammals such as whales.  Mr Vescovo hoped his unsettling discovery in the Mariana Trench would raise awareness about dumping waste in the oceans and pressure governments to strengthen or better enforce regulations.  "It's not a big garbage collection pool, even though it's treated as such," he said.  Mr Vescovo, a Dallas-based private equity investor, has made four dives in the Mariana Trench in his $48m (£37m) private submarine, DSV Limiting Factor, over the past three weeks. He has biological and rock samples during the descents.  His latest expedition went 52ft (16m) lower than the previous deepest descent in the trench in 1960.  It is the third time humans have dived to the trench’s deepest area, known as Challenger Deep. Canadian film director James Cameron was the last to visit in 2012 in his submarine, which reached a depth of 35,787ft (10,908m).  The first expedition to Challenger Deep was made by the US Navy, which reached a depth of 10,912m in 1960.  News of Mr Vescovo's discovery came as Sir David Attenborough warned an "unfolding catastrophe" that we "ignore at our peril" was unfolded in Earth's oceans.  The wildlife expert said plastic in the sea was a "global problem" that demanded a response on an international scale.  Writing in the i newspaper, Sir David said it was "high time" for the world's leaders to take action on plastic pollution.  "I have seen for myself the effects of plastic pollution on some of our planet's most precious species and natural places - an unfolding catastrophe that has been overlooked for too long," he added.  Scientists have previously found traces of fibres and plastics in the stomachs of creatures living in the Mariana Trench.  Whales have been known to choke to death on plastic bags, while toxic chemicals in human litter have also been shown to change the behaviour of marine creatures and leave them more vulnerable to attack.


trueactivist--2019-03-22--A Boat Made Out Of Flip-Flops And Plastic Waste Sails Around As A Reminder To Keep African Seas Clea

A Boat Made Out Of Flip-Flops And Plastic Waste Sails Around As A Reminder To Keep African Seas Clean Again

Amidst the rising global pollution that has been affecting our earth, beaches and marine life have been badly damaged due to plastics ending up in the ocean. This is where “The Flipflopi” comes along. The 9-meter-long dhow was built reusing 10 tonnes of plastic waste to convince the locals that a change has to be made in how they handle disposing their trash.  Chief boat-builder and captain of The Flipflopi, Ali Skanda said: “That’s why we started this voyage – to reach out to communities in East Africa, and also globally.”  The boat sailed 500 km (311 miles) from the south of Lamu Island, Kenya, to Zanzibar, Tanzania which took two weeks last January 23 to raise awareness of how plastic threatens to destroy oceans and everything else that call it their home. Throughout their journey, the boat had six stops for beach clean-up events and education programs highlighting how pollution affects the seas.  Twenty years ago, Kenya’s beach shores were free of waste and pollution, but tourism increased the usage of plastic bottles and bags, which in turn, has harmed the ocean tremendously.  According to the UN Environment, an estimated 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the 1950’s, and only 9 percent of this has been recycled while another 12 percent that had been incarcerated. The remaining 79% ended up in landfills, dumps and carelessly thrown in public spaces.  Co-founder Ben Morison told the Thomson Reuters Foundation he began working on the project in 2016 “to transmit the message about the impact that plastic is having on marine ecosystems, how this affects us, and most important of all, what we can do about it”.  What are your thoughts? Please comment below and share this news!


trueactivist--2019-05-14--Crustaceans Living In The Deepest Parts Of The Sea Have Been Ingesting Micro Plastics

It has been discovered that the marine life living in the deepest part of the earth’s oceans have in one way, or the other, consumed micro plastics.  Newcastle University scientists have been doing research about the guts of amphipods, which are crustaceans of shrimp-like form of over 9,900 species found in the world. They collected samples from six different deep trenches ranging from 23,000 – 36,000 feet (7,000 – 11,000 meters) deep all located along the pacific rim such as in Peru, Chile and Japan.  72% of all amphipods studied contained at least one micro particle in their bodies from plastics, synthetic materials, or natural fibers. In the Marianas Trench, which is the deepest part of the ocean, absolutely all amphipods that were studied was claimed to have ingested plastic.  Scientists have claimed that all these micro plastics that were found in deep sea creatures are passed on to the other organisms higher up in the food chain that eat them, hence it being transferred to humans as well at some point.  Alan Jamieson, a Newcastle University study author said: “If you contaminate a river, it can be flushed clean. If you contaminate a coastline, it can be diluted by the tides. But, in the deepest point of the oceans, it just sits there.”  Since this ongoing problem of micro plastics pollution is found in the deepest of the oceans, scientists are worried that all newly discovered deep sea species will never be studied in their natural state before the contamination.  “We have no baseline to measure them against. Their is no data about them in their pristine state. The more you think about it, the more depressing it is,” says Alan Jamieson.  What are your thoughts? Please comment below and share this news!


wakingtimes--2019-03-20--Scientists Find Harmful Microplastics in 100 of Wild Sea Turtles

The amount of plastic currently residing in the world’s oceans is so large, it’s almost incomprehensible. Making up part of the estimated 4.8-12.7 million tonnes currently inhabiting our waters is a small form of plastic known as microplastics, which is any plastic less than 5 millimeters in diameter.  Although the understanding that plastic is piling up around the world is widespread, not much scientific literature has been published exploring the scale of microplastic pollution in wild sea turtles, until now.  A new study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, has discovered that all of 102 wild sea turtles that were tested from the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific Ocean basins were found to have been contaminated with microplastics.  Microplastics come from a variety of products, including cosmetic exfoliators, cigarette filters, automotive tires, and the breaking down of larger plastics, and they may pose a serious risk to marine life in the future.  According to a meta-analysis from one month prior, microplastics are not expected to cause significant damage to marine life until at least the year 2100. But some scientists are becoming concerned due to their high “abundance and bioavailability,” referring to them as “a pollutant in their own right.”  As described in the study on sea turtles, the prevalence of microplastics in crabs has previously been shown to adversely affect food consumption and energy, while also reducing growth and energy in marine worms. Zooplankton, fish, and dolphins have all also been found to have been contaminated with some form of microplastic pollutant in previous studies.  Microbeads, another more pervasive form of microplastics, were also found in sea turtles albeit at smaller levels. However, they were banned in the US in 2015 and the UK in 2018 due to their harmful impact on ocean life.  The number of synthetic microparticles found in tested sea turtles numbered over 800, but the most common form was a fiber with primarily blue and black color measuring up to nearly half a centimeter in length. Turtles from the Mediterranean Sea were also found to have higher levels of microplastics than those in the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans.  Environmental groups like Greenpeace point to this study not as proof of imminent danger to sea turtles, but as evidence that our wasteful use of plastic does in fact affect wildlife and the environment.  The impact of microplastics on sea turtles is still unknown, but luckily, the levels which are currently being found in marine life are not expected to cause any significant harm – at least until more research is done to discover their full impact on vulnerable marine life.  This study was funded in part by the Karsiyaka Turtle Watch, People’s Trust for Endangered Species, and Sea Life Trust.  This article (Scientists Find Harmful Microplastics in 100% of Wild Sea Turtles) was originally created by Phillip Schneider and may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.


latimes--2019-08-26--Microplastics are found in Lake Tahoes waters for first time ever

Microplastics are found in Lake Tahoe's waters for first time ever

Scientists have detected microplastic pollution in Lake Tahoe’s deep blue waters for the first time. Now they are trying to determine its source and potential harm to the lake’s flora and fauna.  Preliminary analyses of water samples collected by researchers at the Desert Research Institute in Reno revealed the presence of particles of synthetic fiber and bits of red and blue plastic no bigger than the head of a pin.  “On one level, we’re heartbroken and disappointed by this discovery,” said Monica Arienzo, an assistant research professor at the institute and leader of the investigation. “We really hoped we wouldn’t find much of this material in Tahoe’s water, which is almost entirely snowmelt.”  At the same time, she said, the team is looking forward “to diving deep into the many questions and concerns it raises.”  Tracing the particles to their source won’t be easy. Recent studies have shown that particles from discarded plastic products — flip-flops, toys, toothbrushes, water bottles, synthetic clothing, Styrofoam packaging and myriad others — can be transported long distances through the atmosphere by wind, rain and falling snow.  As a result, the pollution in the basin cradling Tahoe’s water could be local, or from locations around the world.  “Right now, we’re not sure where it came from,” Arienzo said. “But we’re definitely going to try and figure it out.”  The finding complicates a long struggle against erosion, sewage effluent, unbridled development, invasive clams and algae to save the lake, 6,225 feet in elevation. Federal state and local governments have spent more than $2 billion over the last six decades buying land and developing erosion control and wetlands restoration projects.  The shoreline of the lake, 22 miles long and 12 miles wide, has become one of the most tightly regulated places in the United States.  Yet, it didn’t take long for the researchers, part of the Nevada System of Higher Education, to find what they were looking for.  They used a system of pumps, funnels, tubing and filters to collect water samples 20 feet from the water’s edge at six locations, including areas of both high and low human activity.  The sampling was conducted throughout the spring at Tahoe Keys, a popular boating resort; Emerald Bay State Park, where boat access is limited; and at three stormwater outfalls into Lake Tahoe. The work was done in collaboration with the nonprofit League to Save Lake Tahoe’s citizen science program.  The team also collected water samples at other Nevada waterways including Lake Mead and the Las Vegas Wash.  To isolate particles caught in the filters, researchers oxidized organic matter such as insects, twigs and algae. Next, a high-density liquid-separation method was used to allow sediments to settle to the bottom and plastics to float to the top.  The team has since been examining the particles they collected under powerful microscopes for classification by size, shape, color, GPS coordinates and chemical composition.  Microplastic debris is an emerging concern among scientists and environmentalists. Researchers recently found surprisingly high levels of microplastics in Arctic snow, demonstrating the global reach of these tiny particles of pollution.  About 245 million tons of plastic are produced annually around the world, according to industry estimates. That represents 70 pounds of plastic annually for each of the 7.1 billion people on the planet, scientists say.  Microplastics, potentially toxic and not biodegradable, have become a ubiquitous contaminant in the Pacific Ocean and seas around the world, scientists say. Much of it comes from densely populated coastal watersheds such as Southern California.  By contrast, the study of microplastics in freshwater alpine lakes such as Lake Tahoe is still in its infancy.  “Turning up this stuff at a world-famous nearly pristine mountain lake may move people to take action,” said Zack Bradford, senior science analyst at the League to Save Tahoe. “We’ll see.”  The Desert Research Institute team is scheduled to present its findings to the American Geophysical Union in December.


latimes--2019-10-02--The biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters Our car tires

The biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters? Our car tires

Driving is not just an air pollution and climate change problem — turns out, it just might be the largest contributor of microplastics in California coastal waters.  That is one of many new findings, released Wednesday, from the most comprehensive study to date on microplastics in California. Rainfall washes more than 7 trillion pieces of microplastics, much of it tire particles left behind on streets, into San Francisco Bay each year — an amount 300 times greater than what comes from microfibers washing off polyester clothes, microbeads from beauty products and the many other plastics washing down our sinks and sewers.  These tiny plastics, invisible to the naked eye, have been vilified for tainting water and wildlife but are notoriously difficult to study. They’re everywhere and seemingly come from everywhere. They wash into the ocean in all different shapes and sizes, many covered with dyes and chemicals. Scientists and labs across the state, the nation and the world haven’t even agreed on how exactly to measure or sample or study them.  So a team of researchers, led by the San Francisco Estuary Institute and the 5 Gyres Institute, a nonprofit research group focused on reducing plastic pollution, set off to create an inventory of sorts to identify all the ways these different microplastics were getting into San Francisco Bay. They analyzed hundreds of samples from fish, sediment, surface water, wastewater and stormwater runoff and tried to trace the origins of all these particles.  Mark Gold, who heads the state’s Ocean Protection Council and was recently appointed the state’s deputy secretary for ocean and coastal policy, said he was surprised that car tire particles were such a large source.  “I’m so used to thinking of the toxics that come from urban runoff and not the actual physical particles from something like tire dust,” said Gold, who has worked for 30 years on cleaning up California’s beaches and oceans from toxic chemicals. “But the sheer number of particles … the scope and scale of this problem makes you realize that this is something that’s definitely worth looking at a great deal more seriously.”  Once plastic enters the environment, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces but never goes away. Thetiny particles make their way into the ocean, into the stomachs of marine animals, and ultimately become part of the food and water people consume.  A recent UC Davis study sampled seafood sold at local markets in Half Moon Bay, Calif., and found that one-quarter of the fish and one-third of the shellfish contained plastic debris. A survey comparing 150 tap-water samples from five continents found synthetic microfibers in almost every sample — 94% in the United States.  Microplastics have been found in Lake Tahoe, in the deep, deep ocean — even in the Arctic, one of the most remote regions in the world. A scientific review of 52 studies recently concluded that humans on average consume a credit card’s worth of microplastic each week. The European Union is trying to classify microplastics as a contaminant that is unsafe at any level of discharge.  “We’re using more and more plastic and it’s showing up as a footprint on the seafloor,” said Jennifer Brandon, a microplastics biologist at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography whose research found that since the 1940s, the amount of microscopic plastics has doubled about every 15 years. “It begs the question: Is this what our civilization is going to be remembered for?”  Microplastics are commonly defined as plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters and classified into five general shape categories: foam, “sphere or pellets,” such as microbeads; jagged “fragments” from larger plastic debris; “film,” such as breakdowns from plastic bags and wraps; and “fibers,” from the likes of textiles, fishing gear and even cigarette filters. Rubber is also considered plastic, both natural (isoprene) and synthetic (styrene butadiene).  These particles often contain harmful chemical additives such as flame retardants or plasticizers, but the overwhelming diversity in size and chemical composition also makes toxicity difficult to predict, let alone study.  What’s missing right now is a systematic approach to evaluating all these different microplastics. When every study does it differently, it’s hard to compare results, said Susanne Brander, an environmental toxicologist at Oregon State University.  As for rubber fragments, they can be toxic because of the fossil-fuel-associated compounds that they’re likely picking up. The San Francisco findings, Brander added, are a window into other populated coastal areas with so many bridges and roads crisscrossing the watershed.  San Francisco Bay is a good laboratory for investigating this emerging contaminant in an urban environment. Essentially a bathtub surrounded by more than 7 million people, it ends up trapping many of the contaminants before they disperse into the greater ocean.  In the latest study, a three-year, $1.1-million effort by a large team of researchers, microplastics from almost 400 samples were identified and analyzed with microscopes, tweezers and lasers in an ecotoxicology lab at the University of Toronto. By establishing new standards for doing a large-scale study of a major estuary and creating a baseline for all these diverse plastics, scientists found clues to where all the particles were coming from.  “We wanted to come up with methods that could be duplicated anywhere in North America — to measure the sources, pathways and fates of those various particles … so that we could standardize a definition of the problem,” said Warner Chabot, executive director of the San Francisco Estuary Institute, an independent science think tank whose board draws both from regulating agencies and those being regulated for water quality, as well as public interest groups.  “The goal was to provide the data and the science to define and quantify the microplastic problem and inform policy solutions.”  Researchers collected anchovies and smelt from six sites in the bay and found they had higher particle counts — particularly of man-made microfibers — than those tested in more undeveloped areas. These prey fish are a critical link between contamination in sediment and seawater and the rest of the food web — an indicator of exposure to larger predators and ultimately humans.  Eight wastewater treatment plants in the Bay Area were also examined. More than 90 million microparticles are discharged into the ocean every day through the facilities, the report said.  Sediment samples were also collected from 20 sites. Scientists found that many microplastics do indeed sink and accumulate on the seafloor, and that the highest concentrations of microparticles were in areas that received large volumes of wastewater and stormwater discharges. Public attention and scientific study, they said, need to focus beyond just the plastic floating on the surface.  Scientists were also taken aback by the sheer amount of particles coming from stormwater runoff, as well as the “black rubbery fragments” that made up almost half of all the particles collected from these samples.  “No one had looked at all the water rushing off the streets during rainfall events to see whether that had plastics in it,” said estuary institute scientist Rebecca Sutton, the study’s lead author. “That makes all that driving we do something to think about, not just in the Bay Area, but any setting where there are cars.”  Researchers in California have been working on documenting the presence of microplastics since as early as the 1990s. Studies by the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project found that tiny pre-production plastic pellets, or “nurdles,” have become a ubiquitous presence in Southern California beach sand.  The SCCWRP is now working with officials across the state to standardize the way microplastics are measured and studied. There’s been growing movement on the issue since two state Senate bills, signed into law in September 2018, called for the State Water Quality Control Board to develop plans for quantifying microplastic particles in drinking water by 2021, and for the Ocean Protection Council to come up with a statewide strategy on the problem.  At a gathering Wednesday in Berkeley, top state environmental regulators, policymakers and scientists examined the latest findings. They talked about the need for better filters in washing machines that could trap microfibers, and the benefits of more advanced filtration at wastewater treatment plants  Eliminating plastic at its source will always be the ultimate, though somewhat unrealistic, solution. While people can stop using plastic straws, states can ban microbeads and companies can redesign their shrink wrap, reducing the world’s dependence on automobiles is a tougher nut to crack.  “The answer to many of these stormwater deposits is ... thinking about public transit, getting people out of their cars — all the things that we need to do anyway are just exacerbated by this issue,” said Jared Blumenfeld, who heads the California Environmental Protection Agency.  “Making this report actionable is about legislation, it’s about individual behavior change, it’s about more corporate responsibility. Together, we can make a big change.”  Another idea discussed Wednesday was the use of so-called rain gardens and other nature-based infrastructure that can trap polluted runoff before it reaches the ocean. Designed to remove well-known toxics and metals — while bringing more nature back into the city — a local rain garden was found to capture more than 90% of the microplastics.  “The role of greening cities becomes part of the overall solution.… It’s all part of a complex dance,” Chabot said. “Plastic pollutes the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. Plastics are a big part of the climate change problem…. Since California is the fifth-biggest economy on Earth, we have the potential to lead the planet with solutions.”


theindependent--2019-04-29--Rare deep water baby dolphin found washed up on beach aposhad stomach full of plasticapos

Rare deep water baby dolphin found washed up on beach 'had stomach full of plastic'

A rare baby dolphin has been euthanised after it was found washed up on a Florida beach with a stomach filled with plastic.  Researchers said the rough toothed calf was in poor health, emaciated and should have been in a deep water region with its mother.  A spokesperson from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said its researchers found “two plastic bags and a piece of a balloon” inside the animal.  The organisation also released photographs of the contents of the dolphin’s stomach.  “Although a significant finding, there are many additional factors to consider, such as underlying illness, disease and maternal separation, before a final cause of stranding and death for the dolphin can be determined,” a spokesperson for the FWC said.  “This finding highlights the need to reduce single use plastic and to not release balloons into the environment.”  The mammal was found ashore on Fort Myers beach on 23 April.  Bystanders attempted to help the struggling calf but wildlife officials decided to euthanise it at the beach.  “We made the decision to humanely euthanise on-site,” Michelle Kerr, an FWC spokesperson, said.  The decision was made because of how poor the animal’s condition was, according to the Fort Myers News Press.  Denise Boyd, an FWC biologist, stayed with the baby calf through the night until the early hours of 24 April.  She described the experience as a “tough and long night” and said the calf was so young it “should still have been with mom”.  Instead the animal had strayed into shallow waters.  The animal autopsy, known as a necropsy, revealed that the dolphin was a female and around a year old.  A recent study revealed that plastic pollution in the world’s oceans had significantly increased since the 1990s.  A report published in January 2019 by the Environmental Audit Committee also suggested that British seas were being treated “like a sewer”, with a stream of plastics and untreated waste left in the water.


theindependent--2019-06-19--Plastic waste swamping UK rivers with one waterway more polluted than Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Plastic waste swamping UK rivers, with one waterway more polluted than Great Pacific Garbage Patch, report says

British rivers are so polluted with waste almost all samples contain microplastics, and one is choked with a higher concentration of plastic than the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, the world’s largest accumulation of floating debris, in the north-central area of the ocean, a report has found.  The study of 13 UK rivers by Greenpeace revealed they all had microplastics in them, but the Mersey, which runs from Stockport, through suburban Manchester and empties into Liverpool Bay, was found to be the most contaminated.  Researchers pulled an astonishing 875 pieces of plastic from the river in half an hour, using specially designed nets.  Greenpeace is calling for the government to introduce “bold” new plastic reduction targets and create an independent watchdog with powers to enforce them.  Scientists and campaigners sampled points along the rivers Exe, Thames, Severn, Great Ouse, Trent, Mersey, Aire, Derwent, Wear, Conwy, Wye, Clyde, and Lagan.  Analysis of the samples by scientists at the University of Exeter using an infrared detector found microplastics were in 28 out of 30 locations tested.  A total of 1,271 pieces of plastic ranging from fragments of straws and bottle tops to tiny microbeads less than 1mm across in size were fished out of the rivers.  Greenpeace said the concentrations of plastic waste in the Mersey were recorded at 2 million microplastics per square kilometre, making it proportionally more polluted than the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  Greenpeace ocean plastics campaigner Fiona Nicholls said: “When processing the samples, I remember thinking that this was an outrageous amount of microplastics, just hundreds and hundreds of microplastics nestled among the twigs, leaves and feathers that were also making their way down the river.  “During this campaign we witnessed voles eating plastic, swans using it to build their nests, and caddisfly larvae using it to make their protective casings.”  She added: “Fiddling around the edges of the plastic pollution problem by banning straws simply doesn’t cut it.  “We need to see bold new plastic reduction targets in the upcoming environment bill, and aim to at least halve single-use plastic production by 2025.”  The research team tested a minimum of two locations on each river and sent the samples for analysis at a laboratory at the University of Exeter.  More than four-fifths of the polymers found by Greenpeace were polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene, which are used to make products such as food packaging, milk and water bottles and carrier bags.  The research comes immediately after the countries of the G20 signed up to a voluntary agreement pledging action to tackle the torrent of plastic washing into the world’s oceans, where it decimates wildlife and ruins ecosystems.  The growth in single-use consumer plastics has fuelled a surge in plastic pollution around the world. It is estimated there are now 5.25 trillion pieces of ocean plastic debris, and a recent report estimated the quantity of plastic in the sea will treble by 2025.  Around 40 per cent of plastics are thought to enter the waste stream in the same year they are produced.  A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “The UK is a global leader in tackling plastic pollution and is already making great strides – banning microbeads in rinse-off personal care products, taking 15 billion plastic bags out of circulation with our 5p carrier bag charge, and announcing plans to introduce a deposit return scheme for single-use drinks containers.  “We know there is more to do, which is why we are funding groundbreaking research into how microplastics enter waterways and working with the water industry to find new methods to detect, measure and remove microplastics from wastewater.”


themanchestereveningnews--2019-03-18--Investigation into huge levels of microplastics in River Tame making it the most plastic-polluted

Investigation into huge levels of 'microplastics' in River Tame, making it the most plastic-polluted waterway in the world

Industrial businesses in Tameside could be to blame for the huge levels of ‘microplastics’ that make the River Tame the most plastic-polluted waterway in the world.  Researchers from the University of Manchester have revealed that they suspect a localised source - or sources - are behind the astronomical levels of plastic microbeads being found in the riverbed.  Microbeads were routinely used in cosmetics and beauty products, such as exfoliating creams, but were banned from sale last June by Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.  They form part of widespread plastic pollution in waterways and oceans condemned by environmental campaigners.  In the first tests by investigators, a section of the River Tame in Denton was found to have 517,000 plastic particles per square metre of sediment - double the previous record for any waterway or ocean in the world.  Professor Jamie Woodward and Dr James Rothwell, two of the academics from Manchester who led the research, briefed councillors in Tameside about the problem at an environmental scrutiny meeting.  Testing before and after major floods, such as the Boxing Day flooding of 2015 demonstrated that rivers were able to 'clean themselves', Prof Woodward said.  But while the rest of the 40 sites tested saw a huge reduction in the amount of microplastics after flooding events, the amount in the River Tame had actually increased, members were told.  Microplastics covers various forms of plastic pollution, including microbeads, microfibres from synthetic clothing and fragments.  "This is the elephant in the room on the River Tame. Most of the sites show a significant reduction in microplastics," Prof Woodward said.  “Apart from this one on the River Tame that actually increased and bucked the trend quite spectacularly."  This led investigators to believe there was a 'serious contamination problem' locally.  Prof Woodward said: "These hotspots are quite dynamic so this suggests that there is a local source of contamination or multiple sources of contamination which is feeding large amounts of microplastics into the river system.  “These are almost exclusively microbeads, which are manufactured spherical plastic particles often related to industrial uses or personal care.  “I think this is probably an industrial source to account for such high concentrations that have accumulated so quickly.  "And it might be multiple sources as well, we need to find out what that source is. Currently we don’t know.  “Microbeads; they’re not washed off roads. They’re coming from a distinctive source where somebody is using that either as a raw material or using it in an industrial process.”  He added: “We don’t know what’s an acceptable level of microplastics in the water system.  "Ultimately to solve the problem in the oceans, and in the rivers we have to change our behaviour and change what industry uses to stop the microplastics getting into the river in the first place.  “It’s certainly undesirable, even if we don’t fully understand what the implications might be.  “Once we’ve identified what this source is, any pressure that can be applied - that’s the Environment Agency’s responsibility."  A recent study by Bangor University, which tested the water rather than the riverbed sediment, found more pieces of microplastic on stretches of the River Tame and River Irwell than in a stretch of the River Thames.  In the wake of the findings, Friends of the Earth said microplastics should now be considered as an 'emergent contaminant' - and called for the routine monitoring of all UK waters.  However Mark Turner, Natural Course GM Team Leader at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, told the meeting: “The Environment Agency doesn’t regulate around microplastics and plastic pollution.  "But plastics and microplastics isn’t on the agenda, so for them to regulate would need more information in terms of what it is they are actually regulating, and what they’re trying to stop.  “That would require a change in law, as well as policies and practices."  Millions have watched the plight of marine life struggling to survive in plastic-infested oceans and seas highlighted by Sir David Attenborough in the BBC series Blue Planet.  The plastic is thought to come from industrial sites near the river, storm water drains and sewage overflow pipes connected to homes and businesses.  Because the fragments are so tiny, they are not filtered out by sewage plants and flow into rivers and eventually the sea.  Here, they are ingested by shellfish and plankton and often end up being eaten by humans.  Plastic particles have been found in almost three quarters of ocean fish.  Although there is a growing body of research, it’s still not fully known how plastic contamination affects humans and animals.


thetelegraph--2019-02-14--Shocking range of plastic found in loggerhead turtle that died on an Italian beach

A shocking range of plastic, from sweet wrappers to packaging with Arabic script, has been discovered in a large marine turtle that died on the Italian coast.  The loggerhead turtle was found on a beach on the Cilento peninsula in the southern region of Campania.  When marine biologists performed a post-mortem on the animal, they found dozens of bits of plastic inside its stomach.  They included tattered bits of a plastic cup, an M&Ms sweet wrapper and six plastic filters, as well as packaging with a bar code that showed it was manufactured in Algeria.  The extent of plastic pollution in the turtle’s stomach was revealed by scientists from the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station in Naples.


eveningstandard--2019-01-22--This household chore is a worse polluter of oceans than plastic bags

We are haunted by graphic images of plastic pollution: turtles entangled in fishing gear, dead birds with stomachs full of plastic waste and whales with broken buckets stuck in their mouths.  But there is another, more insidious, hidden form of plastic waste harming the life in our oceans — microfibres. These are virtually invisible bits of fabric which are shed every time we wash synthetic clothing.  They are so small they slip through wastewater systems, straight into waterways and out to sea.  Washing a fleece just once can result in hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of microscopic fibres being shed.  Our research at Green Alliance suggests that, altogether, these tiny fibres are responsible for nearly 10 per cent of the plastic pollution in the sea.  That’s five times more than the combined pollution from carrier bags, which the Government has targeted through a charge, and microbeads, which were recently banned from some cosmetics.  Microfibres are also finding their way into our drinking water and the marine food chain. Scientists say they are the most commonly found plastic in the guts of marine organisms as they are so easily swallowed.  This is known to change animal behaviour. When they ingest plastic they eat less food, so they grow less and have less energy.  Dangerous chemicals and fertilisers can also attach to plastic in the water and accumulate up the food chain as they are ingested by marine life.  This concentrates toxins in larger animals and fish, including those that end up on our dinnerplates.  This sounds alarming, and it is. But there are things we can do to improve the situation. The most significant improvement would be for clothing manufacturers to avoid using fabric that sheds microfibres.  We can’t easily replace all our clothing with natural material, as synthetic clothing makes up the majority of what we wear. But it is possible to create synthetic fibres that shed less.  Material quality and weave make a difference. Research by Plymouth University, for instance, has shown polycotton blends shed at least two thirds fewer fibres than acrylic or polyester.  Polycotton is breathable and durable and is a better choice than acrylic and polyester. So shoppers should read the label and know what they are buying.  As individuals we can make a difference to the environment by changing our laundry habits. These methods of washing also keep clothes in good condition longer. Worn clothes shed more microfibres. These actions will help make your clothes last longer, saving you money.  Libby Peake is senior policy adviser at Green Alliance, a charity and environmental think tank.


eveningstandard--2019-04-10--Scientists point to Earthaposs stash of quotmissing plasticquot in the ocean

Scientists point to Earth's stash of "missing plastic" in the ocean

Every year humans dump millions of tonnes of plastic in the ocean and yet we see just a tiny fraction of it on the surface.  Now, researchers have located Earth's stash of "missing plastic" as part of a global campaign to track down the polluting material.  Just 250 thousand tonnes of up to 12 million tonnes of plastic that enter the oceans each year are thought to stay on the surface, writes AFP. As plastic degrades it gets pulled underwater, making it harder for scientists to track.  Most research still focuses on the fragments we see on the surface. Researchers led by Alethea Mountford from Newcastle University's School of Natural and Environmental Sciences used a computer model of ocean currents to find out where fragments we don't see end up.  According to the study, there are significant build-ups in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and around the Southeast Asia sea. Although the results are still preliminary, they could help researchers better understand how plastic damages marine life.  "Even plastic at the surface can sink down and go back up again – it's moving between different possible sinks in different areas of the ocean at any time," Dr Mountford told AFP.  In January a Sustainable Seas Report published by the Environment Audit Committee said the UK government should have stricter targets for reducing single-use plastic.  Overall, 99 per cent of plastics in the ocean is currently unaccounted for and most of this ends up on the seabed. Previous research found 100 per cent of shrimp in the Mariana Trench – which live up to 36,000 feet below the surface – had plastic in their digestive tracts.  Earlier this year scientists found every single animal washed up on British shores had plastic in its stomach.  Researchers from the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory found 84 per cent of these microplastics had come from synthetic fibres. These are produced by clothes, fishing nets and toothbrushes.  “It is ominous that every single marine mammal tested was found to have microplastics in their digestive system, and it shows the scale of plastic pollution in our seas," said Louise Edge from Greenpeace UK at the time.


motherjones--2019-08-02--A Teen Scientist Figured out How to Suck Microplastics from the Ocean There May Be Hope for Humanit

A Teen Scientist Figured out How to Suck Microplastics from the Ocean. There May Be Hope for Humanity.

On Monday, Fionn Ferreira, an 18-year-old from Ireland, took home the top prize—which includes, in addition to a lifetime of bragging rights, a $50,000 educational scholarship—at the Google Science Fair for his project on microplastic pollution.  Microplastics are plastic fragments less than 5 millimeters in size and they pose serious environmental and a public health risks. They are ubiquitous, having contaminated the most remote places of the world, including France’s Pyrenees mountains and the bottom of the Mariana Trench; they can be found in tap water and inside marine mammals and fish. While it’s not yet clear how microplastics affect human health, it’s safe to say they are of great concern to scientists.  Enter Ferreira, who speaks three languages, plays the trumpet, and has a dwarf planet named after him. Living near the water in West Cork, he was inspired to study microplastics after becoming “increasingly aware” of plastic ocean pollution. “I was alarmed to find out how many microplastics enter our wastewater system and consequently the oceans,” he writes in his project’s research paper. “This inspired me to try and find out a way to try and remove microplastics from waters before they even reached the sea.”  More than 100 miles from the nearest lab, he conducted all of his research at his home, fueled by hot chocolates from his parents. After running more than 1,000 tests (and starting an accidental fire), he figured out a way to remove about 87 percent of microplastic from water by using a magnetic liquid, or ferrofluid. The challenge now, he says, is to bring the project to scale.  Scientists congratulated Ferreira on Twitter, including YouTuber Dianna Cowern (also known as Physics Girl) and Mae Jemison, the first woman of color to travel in space, who wrote, “Channeling creativity and curiosity into ingenuity can change the world.”  I chatted with Ferreira this week via Skype about his inspiration for the project, dismantling his parent’s washing machine, his take on moving to Mars, and how, maybe, we shouldn’t just rely on kids to save the planet.  Of all areas of research to choose from, why did you choose to focus on microplastics?  I think microplastics are a huge problem here and all over the world. Microplastics not only are a huge threat to nature, but also a huge threat to ourselves. They bioaccumulate in us: If we eat fish containing microplastic, they may cause us harm and are linked to cancer.  So once you recognized the problem, how did you go about trying to solve it?  I found a method using ferrofluid with non-toxic iron oxide powder to remove microplastics from water. I think ferrofluid is one of the coolest liquids in the world. It’s a magnetic liquid. It makes really cool shapes when you bring magnets close to it. Currently, there’s no method to remove microplastics from water. So I kind of thought my project was unique.  I think you’re not the only one who thought it was unique. How did you come up with the idea to combine oil and magnetite?  I found a stone at our seashore—we had a recent oil spill—and found little bits of plastic stuck in it. And this got me thinking, why is this happening? It turns out, oil and bits of plastic both have the same polarity [a physical property that determines if a substance can be dissolved by or attract another]. In chemistry, like attracts like, which means non-polar things attract non-polar things.  I first just added some vegetable oil to a sample containing plastics, and the plastics stuck in the vegetable oil. Then I thought, maybe I could further this slightly because I wanted to include a really cool part of chemistry. I thought, how can I remove this oil from water? And that’s how I thought of maybe adding magnetized powder and making this into a ferrofluid, something that I have worked with in school.  You made a great video of the extraction process. Can you explain what’s going on in it?  Essentially, what’s happening is that I’ve got some water containing microplastics. I add oil and magnetite powder. These form a ferrofluid, and then plastics are attracted by this. All I need to do is bring a magnet close to it and it will remove both the plastic and ferrofluids.  What did your parents think about you doing all this research at home?  I’m not really sure. I did take apart our washing machine [to collect microplastics] a couple of times. And, you know, things caught fire. I don’t know if they were too happy. They made me hot chocolates too, so there were definitely pros to it.  It also meant that for this project, I had to build all of my own equipment, from building a spectrometer to a microscope. And in addition to building it, I then had to use it for testing. So I think there were pros and cons. One of the pros was, I could [work on the project] whenever. Because I live about 200 kilometers [124 miles] away from the nearest lab, at home was the only place I could do it.  Did you feel like you’re cleaning up someone else’s mess because the microplastics have been left in large part by previous generations?  No. I think everybody, all humans, are responsible for this mess of microplastics. I don’t think we can blame one person for it. I’m sure that just in my life, I’ve given out lots of microplastics too, everything from driving my car, well, I don’t have a car, but my parents driving me around, and even washing my clothes. I think everybody is responsible. And I think that if I’ve found a method like this, why not use it? And why not put it to a greater good?  I read on your website that you also have an interest in space. Is that right?  Yes. I actually run a planetarium on the side, and I do planetarium shows. I have a dwarf planet named after me.  For someone with a fascination with space, why is it important to you to save this planet, rather than focusing on going to live on another one, like Mars?  I think it takes quite a long time to get to Mars. And I think it’s not viable to bring everybody on Earth to Mars. I’m not sure if I would like to go to Mars myself, I’d have to think about it first. But because of that, I think we should clean up our planet because I think we’ll be stuck here for quite a while longer. And I like our planet. Our planet’s pretty unique. I’ve looked at lots of planets in our solar system, and farther away, and I think our planet’s unique. I think that we should mind our own planet and we should take care of it.  When I see stories about young people doing innovative things, Greta Thunberg, for example, I always see people say, “Oh, thank goodness. The kids are going to save us.” As someone who might be the recipient of that kind of mentality, what do you think of that?  Well, I think that everybody here on Earth has a role to play. I think if we can save [the Earth], which I think we can, everybody needs to take part. And I don’t think it’s just the job of young people or just a job for old people; I think everybody should be engaged. Older people might have more influence and more power. And the same goes for young people too.  What’s next for you?  Well, for me anyway, next is going to university. I’m going to go to the University of Groningen in the Netherlands in August and I’m going to be studying chemistry. I think there are other projects which I can do, similar to this one, but I just have to learn a bit more chemistry.  Did you ever consider going to an American university?  I did for a while consider going to an American university. But it’s not really viable and not eco-friendly to travel 9,000 kilometers to go to university. And so because of that, I dismissed it quite early on. And I actually did receive a scholarship for the University of Arizona at one point, which I decided not to take because I like living in Europe. There is so much good legislation here around climate change and the environment, I wanted to stay at home.  This interview has been edited and condensed.


naturalnews--2019-02-06--Plastic trash polluting our oceans is expected to double by 2025what is being done to stop this glo

Plastic trash polluting our oceans is expected to double by 2025…what is being done to stop this global crisis?

(Natural News) Have you seen the viral video of a sea turtle that had a plastic straw stuck in its nostril? The heartbreaking video sparked a global movement of banning plastic straws and replacing them with eco-friendly, reusable versions such as bamboo or stainless steel drink straws.  It may be a step toward the right direction, but is it enough to significantly mitigate plastic pollution in our oceans?  Only recently, a dead sperm whale that washed ashore in eastern Indonesia was found to have 13 pounds of plastic trash in its stomach, including 115 plastic cups and two flip-flops. Indonesia is one of the world’s top plastic polluters, second only to China.  Another young sperm whale that was found beached on the shores of southeastern Spain was discovered to have 64 pounds of plastic inside its stomach and intestines, which caused fatal infection.  The devastating effects of the ever-growing plastic problem are not limited to marine species. Ninety percent of sea birds have been found to have plastic in their stomachs. Worse still, the estimated 19 billion pounds of plastic trash that makes its way into the oceans every year is expected to double by 2025.  These plastics have already been killing animals the world over, but it does not stop there. Plastic pollution will destroy coral reef systems, which serve as shelter and breeding grounds for countless species; they will harm biodiversity and alter entire ecosystems; and they can lead to the creation of more and bigger oceanic dead zones. These plastics will also affect human health as they enter the food chain. (Related: The plastic pollution problem is wide AND deep: Study finds sea animals from the deepest parts of the ocean, 7 miles down, have plastic in their stomachs.)  Support our mission to keep you informed: Discover the extraordinary benefits of turmeric gummy bears and organic "turmeric gold" liquid extract, both laboratory tested for heavy metals, microbiology and safety. Naturally high in potent curcuminoids. Delicious formulations. All purchases support this website (as well as your good health). See availability here.  There will likely be additional, unknown impacts. Researchers have only been studying oceanic plastic pollution for less than two decades. This threat demands aggressive action that only certain groups and countries can take.  Plastic pollution in the oceans has led experts and local people alike to raise concerns for the well-being of marine animals. After the discovery of the dead sperm whale in Spain, the government launched a widespread awareness and cleanup campaign. Canada pushed for international action on plastic pollution. In the U.S., nearly 2,000 restaurants and organizations have banned straws or implemented a straws-only-upon-request policy.  Unfortunately, banning plastic straws, plastic bags, and other plastic products can’t make a significant enough impact to solve this problem before some of the effects become irreversible.  The environmental threat that plastic pollution poses is a growing problem that demands an ambitious solution. For years, many of us have been trying to do our part in mitigating this ever-growing problem through recycling. We bring reusable bags to the grocery store, we drink from reusable bottles. With every recycling endeavor, we are surely making a difference.  But here’s the catch – it doesn’t really go away. As much as we try to properly dispose of plastic trash into recycle bins, it doesn’t really disappear. Chances are, it still makes its way to our communities, oceans or waterways in some other way, shape or form.  The truth is that recycling alone won’t completely stop the flow of plastics into our oceans. We have to get to the root of the problem: the production of plastic products. Think about it: If your home was flooding because you had left the faucet on, the first thing you do isn’t to mop. You would first turn off the faucet – the source of the flooding. Our plastics problem is no different.  Drink companies alone produce over 500 billion single-use plastic bottles annually; there is no way that we can recycle our way out of a problem of that scale.  Corporations such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, etc., that continue to mass-produce single-use plastic products have to step up and help mitigate the mess they have helped create in the first place.


naturalnews--2019-04-11--Researchers find plastic-eating microbe that can solve our oceans plastic problem

Researchers find plastic-eating microbe that can solve our ocean's plastic problem

(Natural News) Even as humans keep on filling the planet with plastic pollutants, the bountiful oceans reveal a means by which the problem can be resolved. An Israeli research team announced that they successfully created a biodegradable plastic from a common seaweed. Their new bioplastic could be broken down by bacteria that feed on the seaweed in the wild.  Switching from conventional plastics to this biodegradable equivalent could help reduce the amount of trash that ends up in the sea in the long run. And in addition to already having a naturally occurring microorganism that could break it down, the new biopolymer was not made from land-based plants.  “Plastic from fossil sources is one of the most polluting factors in the oceans,” explained Dr. Alexander Goldberg of the Tel Aviv University (TAU) in a press release. “We have proved it is possible to produce bioplastic completely based on marine resources in a process that is friendly both to the environment and to its residents.”  A professor at the university’s school of environmental and earth sciences, Goldberg and fellow TAU researcher Michael Gozin pooled their efforts to create the seaweed-based bioplastic. They published the details of their experiment in the scientific journal Bioresource Technology. (Related: Study finds man-made pollution is transforming ‘untouched’ areas of the earth.)  Conventional plastics are a serious threat to the ecosystems of the oceans. Experts warned that if humans continued to manufacture these petroleum-based products at the expected rates, there will be more plastics in the oceans in 2050 than there are living fish.  GLYPHOSATE testing is now being applied to all Health Ranger Store branded products. Our in-house lab uses LC-MS-MS (triple quad mass spec). See the full lab science tour video and announcement here. Shop for ultra-clean, lab-tested superfoods, personal care products and more at the Health Ranger Store, the world's most trusted source for clean foods and lab-verified nutritional solutions.  Many biodegradable plastics have already been created to act as substitutes for plastics made from fossil fuels. However, the plants used to provide the raw carbon material for manufacturing these earlier bioplastics were all grown on land. They also needed lots of fresh water.  There are countries in the world that lack large swathes of fertile land for growing large crops. Others do not have much in the way of fresh water. And then there are countries like Israel, which has limited amounts of both arable soil and irrigation water.  “There are already factories that produce this type of bioplastic in commercial quantities, but they use plants that require agricultural land and fresh water,” said Golberg, who served as one of the authors of the study. “The process we propose will enable countries with a shortage of fresh water, such as Israel, China and India, to switch from petroleum-derived plastics to biodegradable plastics.”  Goldberg drew inspiration from his earlier efforts at developing sustainable uses for seaweed. His laboratory has previously come up with ethanol biofuels, proteins, and sugars that could be extracted from seaweed grown in farms.  He and Gozin chose to use Ulva, a genus of seaweed that is also known as “sea lettuces.” These large algae grow in saltwater, so they could be cultivated on a large scale without the need for land or irrigation water.  Ulva is nutritious and consumed by numerous organisms. Humans, for instance, use sea lettuce as an ingredient in salads and soups. But for the purpose of the study, the most important consumer of Ulva is the microorganism Haloferax mediterranei. Testing showed that the bacteria could break down biopolymers made from Ulva.  The TAU researchers are currently looking for the optimal combinations of algae and bacteria for making new bioplastics with different properties. Single-use plastic, for instance, would have different chemical requirements from reusable plastic. In turn, the plastic would need a different species of seaweed and the appropriate bacteria that can break down its associated bioplastic.


prisonplanet--2019-09-18--90 Per Cent of Plastic Waste Polluting Earths Oceans Comes From Asia and Africa

90 Per Cent of Plastic Waste Polluting Earth’s Oceans Comes From Asia and Africa

So why are westerners being lectured?  Despite westerners being lectured by climate activists like Greta Thunberg, a study has found that around 90 per cent of plastic waste polluting earth’s oceans comes from Asia and Africa.  During her U.S. tour, Thunberg cited “horrifying pictures of plastic in the oceans,” as one of the primary reasons why Americans should listen to her.  However, researchers at Germany’s Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research discovered that a small number of rivers account for the vast majority of plastic pollution and none of them are located in western countries.  “The 10 top-ranked rivers transport 88-95 percent of the global load into the sea,” Dr. Christian Schmidt, a hydrogeologist who led the study, told the Daily Mail. “The rivers with the highest estimated plastic loads are characterized by high population – for instance the Yangtze with over half a billion people.”  Out of the top ten rivers that produce the most pollution, eight are in Asia and two are in Africa. The Yangtze River in China and the Ganges River in India were responsible for the most plastic pollution.  While westerners are being told to alter their lifestyles and have fewer children to save the planet, virtually nothing is being said about or to the people in the countries responsible for the vast majority of pollution.  This is probably one of the main reasons why many in the west remain skeptical about the true motives of the environmentalist movement.  As we reported earlier, only 38 per cent of Americans believe global warming is man made.  My voice is being silenced by free speech-hating Silicon Valley behemoths who want me disappeared forever. It is CRUCIAL that you support me.  Please sign up for the free newsletter here. Donate to me on SubscribeStar here.  Support my sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown.  This article was posted: Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 12:01 pm


theindependent--2019-02-16--New fabrics grown in fermenting tanks could stop tiny plastic fibres polluting worldaposs oceans

New fabrics grown in fermenting tanks could stop tiny plastic fibres polluting world's oceans

New fabrics being grown in laboratories may provide a viable alternative to the materials currently shedding vast quantities of plastic into the world’s oceans.  Synthetic textiles like polyester are durable replacements for natural fabrics like wool and cotton, but they also contribute to the trillions of microplastics filling the world’s oceans.  Concern has been growing about this form of pollution, which is known to be consumed by underwater wildlife with potentially harmful health effects.  These tiny shards of plastic come from many sources, but by far the most abundant variety is thought to be microfibres.  These fibres are produced in their thousands every time a piece of clothing is machine washed, and most are not trapped in filters as they flow through sewage systems.  Trillions or even quadrillions of these tiny shards are thought to have entered waterways and oceans already.  To tackle this problem, Dr Melik Demirel has been leading a project at Pennsylvania State University growing new fibres in large fermentation tanks using the same substances that make up natural materials.  “We are developing different types of protein-based fibres, similar to silk and wool and so on,” said Dr Demirel.  “The problem with synthetics is that they don’t adapt to the natural cycle, so they are not degradable,” he added.  “You need to come up with something that works with the cycles of nature, and the logical answer is to use the same building blocks as nature.”  If these “biosynthetic” materials were to shed fibres during the washing process, they would naturally break down in the water system with no harmful effects for wildlife.  Dr Demirel presented his work so far as part of a panel exploring solutions to the microplastic crisis at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting.  Besides replacing plastic-based materials, he said he hoped to develop materials that can be used instead of fibres like cotton, which despite being natural can come with an enormous water and carbon footprint.  In a process similar to the creation of beer or yogurt, his “biosynthetic” fibres are created in fermentation tanks using bacteria and substances like corn syrup as the starting materials.  The next step is to scale this process up so that it can compete with the millions of tonnes of cotton and other textiles produced every year.  “We can make kilograms but we cannot make tonnes yet,” said Dr Demirel.  We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.  At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.


theindependent--2019-01-22--This household chore is a worse polluter of oceans than plastic bags


thetelegraph--2019-02-04--Microplastics are being glued together in the ocean by bacteria making them big enough to see with t

Microplastics are being glued together in the ocean by bacteria making them big enough to see with the naked eye, scientists find

Glue-like substances secreted by bacteria are sticking tiny particles of plastic together in the ocean to form larger masses, scientists have discovered.  During experiments in seawater, the micro and nano plastics joined with biopolymers made by bacteria to form larger clumps within minutes.  Scientists believe this could lead to the larger items being mistaken for food by marine mammals.  They also fear this could alter the flow of food from the surface to the seafloor, potentially leading to deep sea creatures being starved.  Researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh used water collected from the Faroe-Shetland Channel and the Firth of Forth to set up their experiments.  Plastics were added to the seawater and then incubated in conditions simulating the ocean's surface.  Within minutes, the minuscule pieces of plastic grouped together with bacteria, algae and other organic particles.  The scientists are said to have been surprised to discover large masses of biopolymers formed the bulk of these plastic agglomerates.  Team member Stephen Summers said: "This is a first step towards understanding how nanoplastics interact with natural biopolymers throughout the world's oceans.  "This is very important, as it is at this small scale that much of the world's biogeochemistry occurs.  "We found that the biopolymers envelope or engulf the nanoplastic particles, which caused the plastics to agglomerate into clumps.  "The nanoplastics, which are 100-200 times smaller than a bacterial cell, were actually incorporated into the agglomerates, which became visible to the naked eye in our lab experiments.  "The fact that these agglomerates become large enough to see raises concern, as they are likely to be seen as a food source by small marine animals."  Tony Gutierrez, the microbial ecologist who led the study, outlined the concerns about the potential impact on deep sea and geochemical cycles.  He said: "The agglomerates form in something similar to marine snow, the shower of organic detritus that carries carbon and nutrients from the surface to the ocean floor and feeds deep-sea ecosystems.  "It will be interesting to understand if nano- and micro-scale plastics of different densities could affect the food flux from the upper to lower reaches of the ocean.  "Heavier plastics could drive marine snow to fall at a faster rate to the sea floor, while the opposite could happen with lighter forms of plastics in making it more buoyant and to fall more slowly.  "In that case, deep-sea ecosystems could become starved of food.  "To understand this scenario, we need data on how abundant these invisible plastics are in the ocean."  Heriot-Watt Professor Ted Henry said the larger masses are "much more complex than simple pieces of plastic".  He added: "Research like this is beginning to fill the gaps in scientists' knowledge, but we need more evidence in order to prioritise and manage plastic pollution effectively."  The experiments were part of the Natural Environment Research Council's £1.1 million RealRiskNano project and the research was published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin.


wakingtimes--2019-11-15--Crucial Ocean Feeding Ground for Baby Fish Contains 7x More Plastic Than Fish

A team of researchers led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration didn’t intend to study plastic pollution when they towed a tiny mesh net through the waters off Hawaii’s West Coast. Instead, they wanted to learn more about the habits of larval fish.  They thought that the developing fish would hang out in surface slicks, places where wind and waves push ocean surface waters together, because those slicks would also gather the plankton the fish rely on, Vice explained. They were right, but they found that the slicks also gathered something else.  Overall, the researchers found that plastics in the slicks outnumbered fish by seven to one.  The results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday, paint a troubling picture. The researchers found there were 12 times more plastic in the slicks than was recently recorded in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser explained. The plastics were also 126 times more dense in the slicks than they were in the surrounding waters, and the majority were less than a millimeter, what the study referred to as “prey size.”  The researchers also turned up evidence that the fish are eating the plastic. Of more than 600 fish dissected, 48, or 8.6 percent, had ingested plastic. The plastic was found in seven of eight fish families studied, including important commercial species like swordfish and mahi-mahi. It was also found in flying fish, which are an important part of the marine food web.  It isn’t known exactly how plastic will impact the developing fish, but the researchers predicted it could reduce their chances of survival and add to the threats they already face from overfishing, habitat loss and the climate crisis.  Since adult whales and seabirds have starved to death after ingesting plastics, this is cause for concern.


newyorkpost--2019-07-02--Bali officially bans all single-use plastic to curb ocean pollution

Bali has banned the use of single-use plastic items in a bid to cut down on ocean pollution.  The law prohibiting plastic bags, straws and Styrofoam has come into effect as of July 2, after a six-month transition period that ended last month.  The Indonesian government has ambitious goals for the policy, hoping to achieve a 70 percent decrease in Bali’s plastic marine waste within a year.  “This policy is aimed at producers, distributors, suppliers and business actors, including individuals, to suppress the use of single-use plastics. They must substitute plastics with other materials,” Bali Governor Wayan Koster said at the time, according to the Jakarta Post.  For those who did not comply with the ban, Koster said: “If they disobey, we will take action, like not extending their business permit.”  The policy is a part of a global movement against single-use plastic — in March this year, New York lawmakers voted to bar retailers from giving customers their purchases in single-use plastic bags. The legislation is set to go into effect on March 1, 2020.  According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition, Americans alone discard more than 30 million tons of plastic a year — only 8 percent of it gets recycled.


thesun--2019-04-10--Shocking images reveal the devastating impact of plastic pollution in our oceans with masses of floa

Shocking images reveal the devastating impact of plastic pollution in our oceans with masses of floating rubbish and beaches covered in trash

DISGUSTING photos show how plastic dumped into rivers and oceans around the globe is killing record numbers of sea creatures and destroying the world’s most beautiful beaches.  Eight million metric tonnes of single-use plastics clog up the world’s oceans each year, according to US environmental charity NRDC.  Even though most single-use plastics are sent to landfill, 80 per cent of them end up in our oceans via storms, drains and sewers, the organisation adds.  Single-use plastics are non-biodegradable items like water bottles, plastic bags and drinking straws.  "Trash carpets" blanketing the ocean are unfortunately not an uncommon site, such as the stomach-churning waves of rubbish that lap at the shores of Montesinos Beach in the Dominican Republic.  The once beautiful beach has recently had 1,000 tonnes of trash removed from its golden shores by environment activist group Parley for the Oceans  The group, which campaigns for cleaner oceans, said: “Despite these efforts, more plastic arrives with the tides each day.  "Parley is working on a long-term plan for the Dominican Republic and will remain on the ground there.”  Meanwhile, the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world, dubbed the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’, is located between Hawaii and California.  The floating pile of plastic rubbish spans an area that in 2018 was already three-times the size of France, reports EarthSky.  It said that "some 1.8trillion pieces of plastic weighing nearly 90,000 tonnes are currently floating in this area."  LADbible’s ‘Trash Isles’ campaign saw the social media site fight to get the Great Pacific Garbage Patch recognised as the world’s 19th nation in order to prompt action against the pollution.  Its website details how ocean plastic will outweigh fish by 2050.  And in the Caribbean, more "trash islands" have also formed, with images showing miles of floating rubbish stretching to the horizon.  Microplastics are another dire consequence of the plastic rubbish that is overtaking our oceans.  National Geographic defines the small but deadly plastics as “particles less than five millimetres in size that deteriorate from larger plastic pieces that have entered the oceans".  They’re similar to ‘microbeads’, tiny flecks of plastic that were frequently used in cosmetics like face wash and toothpaste that were banned in the UK in January 2018.  These microbeads first appeared in personal care products about 50 years ago.  The tiny particles easily pass through water filtration systems and end up in the ocean, which is harmful to aquatic life and pollute the sea itself.  Earlier this month a beach in Tenerife was overcome with the tiny shards of microplastic that had been washed ashore and formed lines of visible pollution along the beach.  A study on microplastics in Environmental Research Letters estimates the particles create a combined 236 thousand tonnes of the plastic pollution currently clogging the world’s oceans.  Microplastics are ingested by aquatic wildlife, says National Geographic, having disastrous consequences on their ability to reproduce.  Ocean birds trapped in plastic bags, sea turtles trapped in fishing nets and a seahorse clutching a cotton bud were just some of the horrific images released by National Geographic in 2018.  Marine Insight details how one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed every day from ingesting plastic in the ocean.  Speaking to the New York Times an environmental engineering expert, Jenna Jambeck, said the amount of plastic that entered the ocean in 2010 alone equated to “five plastic grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world".  Shockingly, it's estimated that by 2025, plastic in the ocean will equate to ten plastic bags per foot of coastline, she added.  We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.


unian--2019-02-06--Ukraine probing into illegal pollution of Black Sea with toxic waste in occupied Crimea

The pretrial investigation is conducted by prosecutors jointly with the Ukrainian police.  The Ukrainian-based Prosecutor's Office for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea jointly with the police have begun a pretrial investigation into the illegal pollution of the Black Sea with toxic waste in Russian-occupied Crimea.  It has been established that after Russia occupied the Crimean peninsula in March 2014, the dam of the Nyzhnyo-Churbaske (Lower Curubas) reservoir in the city of Kerch is used for illegal sand extraction, the press service of the Prosecutor's Office said.  Amounts of extracted sand increase every day, as a result of which the city beach is contaminated with the mud after sand washing and extraction because the waste is discharged directly into the canal.  Read alsoPoroshenko: Ukraine to defend its right to free passage through Kerch Strait  "Meanwhile, toxic substances enter the Black Sea and pose a threat to residents' health and the environment," it said.  In this connection criminal proceedings were opened Part 2 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the rules for the protection or use of mineral resources).  As earlier reported, a senior researcher at the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, hydrogeologist Yuriy Medovar warned that Crimea might run out of drinking water in Russian-occupied Crimea in May.


birminghammail--2019-01-16--This is how Solihull plans to reduce air pollution

Pressure to do something about air pollution is growing at both a national and local level.  Solihull Council's draft clean air strategy, to be discussed later this week, describes high levels of harmful substances in the air we breathe as "a significant public health issue".  The five-year action plan acknowledges that poor air quality can increase the risk of life-threatening conditions including cancer and heart disease and aggravate asthma and related respiratory disorders.  A summary which accompanies the dossier said: "It disproportionately affects those who live in more deprived and congested areas, and those who are more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution such as children, older people, and those with existing medical conditions."  The draft strategy outlines plans and policies to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter - two pollutants which cause particular concern.  The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) looks at some of the steps already being taken and measures which are set to be introduced.  Traffic clogging up roads during the school run has been a headache for residents for many years.  But there are increasing concerns that the number of vehicles pumping out exhaust fumes is harmful to pupils, who are more susceptible to the effects of air pollution.  Solihull last week agreed to look at options for expanding its School Streets scheme, which bans traffic from certain roads at the busier times of the day.  Plans are also being drawn up to build on the work being done to educate children about air quality in the classroom.  There has already been a concerted effort to support the move towards electric vehicles, which are considered better for the environment than those powered by petrol or diesel.  Charging points have been installed in the council's main town centre car parks and the local authority has introduced its own electric vehicle scheme.  Residents can expect activity to increase in the coming years, with an emphasis on electric taxis and buses in future.  Work will also be done to support the combined authority's bike hire scheme, promote cycle routes and encourage more businesses to introduce initiatives such as car-sharing.  Thinking about the air pollution implications during the planning process can reduce the need for more costly mitigation measures in future.  The council wants to ensure that new housing developments do not leave residents heavily reliant on cars.  This follows concerns that Dickens Heath, which has seen rapid expansion in recent years, has a very limited bus service.  Planners will also be urged to avoid allowing the likes of schools or care homes to be built in areas where there are air quality risks.  The council is aware that the HS2 rail link - a massive civil engineering project - will bring huge numbers of construction vehicles onto Solihull's roads.  The draft strategy stresses the importance of haul routes to keep the traffic away from local residents.  Planting trees near air pollution "hotspots" - such as key junctions or traffic lights, where engines are often idling - could help draw harmful fumes out of the atmosphere.  Creating more hedges and "green walls" can also clean up the environment, with scientific studies suggesting that the leaves trap air pollution particles.  One of the most high-profile initiatives currently underway in Solihull is the proposal to create an underground heat network to serve the town centre.  A trial bore dole is being dug in Tudor Grange Park this month, to assess the scheme's viability.  Public health officer Sangeeta Leahy had told councillors last year that a dramatic increase in press coverage had pushed air pollution up the agenda.  But the council wants to continue to raise public awareness throughout the year, extending beyond the annual publicity drive on Clean Air Day.  Campaigns could promote the council's work generally and also focus in on specific issues.  For example, encouraging people to leave the car at home on certain days or think about the impact of wood burning devices during the winter months.  The draft strategy will be discussed at the economic development and managed growth scrutiny board this Thursday. The document is then set to go to cabinet, to be finalised, next month.


birminghammail--2019-02-26--Mapped - The 10 worst places for air pollution in Birmingham and West Midlands

Some 218 locations across the West Midlands have been named and shamed for having the worst air pollution, according to a study by Friends of the Earth.  The charity has compiled a data audit to revealed places across the UK that breach the annual Air Quality Objective for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO) levels.  NO levels are set to protect health and high levels of NO can cause flare ups of asthma, coughing and difficulty breathing.  Increased NO levels are thought to be particularly dangerous for young children as their lungs are still developing.  One of the main causes of NO pollution comes from road traffic emissions.  Of the ten locations recording the worst NO pollution in the West Midlands, six were found to be within Birmingham.  But Coventry’s Holyhead Road was found to be the worst individual site. Its annual average was 75.6 ug/m – nearly double the Objective of 40ug/m.  This comes as Birmingham City Council prepares to roll out its ambitious clean air zone plans whereby drivers of high-polluting cars, vans, lorries and buses could be charged for bringing their vehicle into the city centre from January 2020.  Details of the controversial plans have been the subject of heated debate since they were first revealed at the end of June.  Scroll down to see all 10 of the worst air pollution hotspots in the West Midlands ...  Now, the UK Friends of the Earth is campaigning for clean air zones to be rolled out in far more places than are currently being planned, supported by measures such as improved infrastructure to support safe cycling and walking.  The campaigners believe this would ultimately improve public health by reducing the number of polluting vehicles on roads.  Worst hotspots in Birmingham include Watery Lane near the Blues ground, Priory Queensway near House of Fraser and Moor Street near the train station.  Other areas with high levels of pollution include Netherton in Dudley, Stoke on Trent and Uttoxeter.  “It’s unforgivable to see many locations across the region over air quality limits, leaving thousands of us breathing dangerously polluted air," said Chris Crean, West Midlands campaigner at Friends of the Earth.  “Air pollution is often an issue thought of as affecting only the biggest cities.  "The reality is that unacceptably toxic air can be found across much of the UK, even in smaller towns.  "It is harming the health of people across the country and is especially bad for young children whose lungs are still developing.  “The government needs to step up and do more to deal with this air pollution crisis – they can’t just carry on leaving the difficult decisions with local authorities, many of which are severely under-resourced.”  The following locations are ranked by annual average level of NO (in ug/m):  Friends of the Earth has compiled an interactive map showing the worst hit areas in the West Midlands, the East Midlands and the rest of the UK.  Take a look at the full map  You can have your say on Birmingham City Council's Clean Air Strategy.    The strategy outlines how the council intends to go beyond its legal duties and tackle air pollution across the city. You can read the strategy here  You can give your views by completing the online consultation here before April 26.


chicagosuntimes--2019-03-11--Blacks Hispanics breathe in far more deadly air pollution than they makestudy

Blacks, Hispanics breathe in far more deadly air pollution than they make:study

African-Americans and Hispanics breathe in far more deadly air pollution than they are responsible for making, a new study said.  A study looked at who is exposed to fine particle pollution — responsible for about 100,000 American deaths a year — and how much different races are responsible for the pollution based on their buying, driving and living habits.  Scientists calculate that Hispanics on average breathe in 63 percent more of the pollution that leads to heart and breathing deaths than they make. For African-Americans the figure is 56 percent, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  On the other hand, non-Hispanic whites on average are exposed to 17 percent less air pollution than they make.  “Even though minorities are contributing less to the overall problem of air pollution, they are affected by it more,” said study co-author Jason Hill, a biosystems engineering professor at the University of Minnesota who is white. “Is it fair (that) I create more pollution and somebody else is disproportionately affected by it?”  This pollution comes from gases from smokestacks, tailpipes and other places that then solidify into fine invisible particles small enough to pass through lungs and into bloodstreams. These particles, more than 25 times smaller than the width of a human hair, pose the greatest risk to people’s health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says.  While other studies have shown minorities living with more pollution, this study is one of the first to combine buying habits and exposure into one calculation of inequity, Hill said.  Hill and colleagues looked at pollution from highways, coal-fired power plants, hog farms and other sources.  They then looked in a large scale at who is driving more, buying more goods and food, spending more on property and using more electricity, then traced those purchases to end users.  “On average whites tend to consume more than minorities. It’s because of wealth,” Hill said. “It’s largely how much you buy, not buying different things.”  Of 103,000 particle pollution deaths a year, 83,000 can be traced to the activities of people in the United States — not government and not goods exported elsewhere, the study said   Several outside experts praised the research.  “These findings confirm what most grassroots environmental justice leaders have known for decades, ‘whites are dumping their pollution on poor people and people of color’,” said Texas Southern University public affairs professor Robert Bullard, who was not part of the research. Bullard, often called the father of environmental justice , is African-American.  Bullard said his and other past research shows that African-Americans are 79 percent more likely than whites to live where industrial pollution is highest, with people of color overrepresented near Superfund sites and oil refineries.  He said there are far more mostly minority schools within 500 feet of major highways than mostly white schools.  “Being able to quantify the inequity is a key step toward addressing and reducing inequity,” said Christopher Frey, a professor of environmental engineering at North Carolina State University, who is white and not part of the research.  One bright spot is that in recent decades the air has been getting cleaner in general, Hill said. However, his study stopped in 2015 and EPA data shows an uptick in fine particle pollution in 2017. But even with the cleaner air, it is still inequitable, Hill said.


conservativehome--2019-08-12--Will Nicolle Be ambitious in the fight against air pollution

Will Nicolle: Be ambitious in the fight against air pollution

Will Nicolle is a researcher at Bright Blue and co-author of its latest report, ‘Emission impossible?’  Since the first Clean Air Act 1956, introduced by a Conservative Government, the UK has enjoyed considerably cleaner air. But stronger evidence has emerged in recent years about the detrimental impact of air pollution to human health, the economy and the environment. Consequently, there is growing public and political pressure for tougher action to reduce levels of air pollution in the UK.  In Bright Blue’s new report, Emission impossible?, we found that a clear majority (71 per cent) of UK adults reported that they were concerned about the impact of air pollution on the health of themselves and others. And a clear majority (69 per cent) of adults agree that the Government should reduce air pollution below current levels.  Air pollution is damaging for our health in a myriad of ways. The air pollutants Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM) have been linked to higher incidences of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as higher incidences of dementia and depression. There are also costs to the environment – through, for example, nitrogen deposition affecting ecosystem dynamics – and the economy, through high concentrations of pollutants increasing the prevalence of sick days.  The UK currently meets all its legal limits and targets on air pollution, except for annual and hourly legal limits on the concentration of NO2. The UK is split into 43 zones for reporting purposes on the concentrations of different air pollutants. In 2010, 40 of these zones were reported as in breach of our legal limits on the concentration of NO2. Based on the most recent data, the UK still breaches its legal limits for NO2 in 37 of these reporting areas. And the transport sector is the largest source of NO2.  As we leave the EU, the UK Government needs new, ambitious legal limits, legal responsibilities and transport policies on air pollution. This country should aspire to be a global leader on yet another environmental issue, and strive to become the country with the cleanest air in urban areas in the developed world.  First, the Government should commit to adopting the ambitious World Health Organisation’s guideline limits on four air pollutants: PM, NO2, sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3). Currently, the UK’s legal limits and targets for different air pollutants are EU-derived. Recently, DEFRA stated they believed the WHO’s recommended PM2.5 limit was “technically feasible”, but further analysis was needed as to its economic and practical feasibility. We recommend the Government adopts all the WHO guideline limits for different air pollutants as soon as possible, but only after a feasibility study.  In the future, the new Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), or even a new Committee on Clean Air, should have the responsibility to recommend future legal limits and targets for different air pollutants to parliament after conducting appropriate feasibility studies. This will be similar to the role of the independent and influential Committee on Climate Change in advising the UK Government on greenhouse gas emission targets, so that the setting of air pollutant limits and targets will be properly evidenced and scrutinised.  Second, to achieve these stricter limits, those who have the power to reduce air pollution should have clearer legal responsibilities. At the moment, local authorities are obliged to monitor, review and if appropriate take action in relation to the air pollution within their boundaries. But local authorities do not have a clear legal responsibility to reduce air pollution below legal limits. Equally, other public authorities that control some sources of air pollution do not face legal obligations to reduce air pollution levels to below legal limits in areas where they have authority.  We recommend that all local authorities have a legal requirement placed on them to achieve compliance with legal air pollutant limits in their geographic area of responsibility. We also recommend that relevant public bodies should have a new legal duty placed on them to contribute to achieving compliance with legal air pollution limits within their geographic area of responsibility.  Finally, bolder transport policies will be needed if the UK is to meet these new ambitious limits, especially for the air pollutant NO2.  Recently, it was forecast that Electric Vehicles will only be 75 per cent of new vehicle sales by 2040 based on current incentives – falling short of the Government’s target of phasing out fossil fuel car purchases by 2040. The expensive upfront costs of Electric Vehicles are a major barrier, so we recommend therefore that VAT should be scrapped on the purchase of all categories of Electric Vehicles in the UK.  Generally, arguments for the lowering of speed limits to 20mph in urban areas are framed in terms of public safety, but there is now also a solid evidence base to be made for it lowering air pollution from vehicles. We recommend that the default national speed limit on all ‘restricted roads’ in urban areas in England and Wales be lowered from 30mph to 20mph.  In the City of New York in the US, there is a system in place to allow citizens to report commercial trucks and buses that are idling for longer than the legal three minutes – or for longer than one minute if outside schools – through taking photographs and videos and filling out an online form run by the City of New York government. Citizens who report polluters get a 25 per cent share of the income from the fine imposed.  So, alongside new powers to enable local authority traffic officers to instantly apply fines for stationary idling, which the government is considering, we recommend local authorities with a charging Clean Air Zone should be required to introduce such citizen-based reporting of stationary idling. If a fine is imposed, citizens could receive a portion of the fine, with the remainder going to the local authority to be spent on other local air pollution abatement policies. We further recommend the government consult on expanding this citizen-based reporting system from the City of New York to passenger vehicles.  The UK’s departure from the EU means that there is an opportunity to raise air pollution standards in the UK. Post-Brexit Britain should introduce ambitious limits and policies to be a global leader on clean air.


dailymail--2019-10-23--Rise in deaths from air pollution since Donald Trump president

A rise in air pollution in the US between 2016 and 2018 led to the premature deaths of an estimated 9,700 Americans, a new study has revealed.  Experts attribute the increase of air pollution to more trucks and other pollution-emitting vehicles on the road and an increase in manufactures' carbon emissions.  The increase started under the Trump administration and experts have suggested it is a result of the president's support for polluting-industries, appeals of environmental acts and appointed industry-friendly regulators as government agency officials.  The shocking discovery was made by a team at Carnegie Mellon, who analyzed air pollution from 2009 through 2018.  During this time frame, particulate matter air pollution dropped 24 percent, but rose 5.5 percent over the next two years.  'That increase was associated with 9,700 premature deaths in 2018,' Karen Clay and Nicholas Muller, economists with Carnegie Mellon, wrote in a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.  'At conventional valuations, these deaths represent damages of $89 billion.'  The researchers noted that this boom has brought more trucks and other polluting-emitting vehicles on the road to ship more goods and has increased manufacturers' carbon emissions to create more goods.  'The chemical composition of particulates point to increased use of natural gas and to vehicle miles traveled as likely contributors to the increase' in pollution, they wrote. 'We conclude that the effect is due to diesel vehicles as well as some industrial boilers.'  'Because of these large increases and the large exposed population in California, we find that nearly 43 percent of the increase in deaths nationally from 2016 to 2018 occurred in California,' they wrote.  To find this information, the team analyzed over 1.8 million daily readings from the Air Quality System the Environmental Protection Agency manages, Gizmodo reported.  The data was then broken down into specific types of particulate matter, which includes ammonium nitrate, sulfate and elemental carbon.  Because these particles were developed through specific sources of combustion, the team was able to determine that they were behind the recent spike in air pollution.  Although most of the US experienced a rise in air pollution, it was California that had the highest increase – it rose 12.5 percent.  This was due to the numerous and massive wildfires that state has had over the past few years.  Previous studies have found that air pollution has also attributed to an exponential rise in dementia – cases of the disease increased at a rate of 20 percent more and most of them were in developed countries where air pollution is rife.  And over the summer, experts determined that air pollution can age our lungs up to two years and increase risks of lung disease.  The pollution has also been found to attribute to heart attacks and degenerative eye disease.  The increase in air pollution started under the Trump administration and it may not be a surprise as the president has made known his support for industries that are known for polluting the US.  The US president has also appointed industry-friendly regulators in positions that would control emissions and pollution, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which enforces many air quality regulations and regulates polluting industries.  Trump also moved to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement in June of 2017 and just last month, his administration announced the repeal of an Obama-era regulation that had expanded pollution protections for waterways such as wetlands and shallow streams, but that farmers, miners and manufacturers decried as overreach.  His appointed regulators who sit on the EPA board also scrapped the Clean Power Act and eased up regulations on toxic air pollution.  'Since 2017, the agency, through a variety of actions, has signaled it is going to take a more relaxed approach,' Joe Goffman, former associate administrator for Climate and Senior Counsel at the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation who now helps run Harvard Law School's Environmental Law Program, told Gizmodo.  'This administration has sent enough signals to sources that they are operating under a more lenient regime that could corroborate the data that is the focus of this report.'