Dear Subscriber,
I have been covering plastic pollution for years now, and have ramped it up with new science proving out my decades long warnings. Now, there is a plastic pollution weather forecast for Paris!!!
Scientists have predicted about 40-48 kg of plastic microparticle “rain” falling on Paris every 24 hours now. Much of it is microfiber nylon and polyester from clothing. 10 metric tons of such fibers are now expected to settle on Paris in a year.
Just imagine – formal weather forecasts telling you how much plastic will be “raining” down on you for your deep breathing and exercise work. I have older eyes, but I now regularly see plastic particles in the air. I have to admit, what really gets me, is that we face an environmental calamity of Biblical proporations, no, even beyond, but our Rulers spend more time and money on war, sexual politics, and deliberately dividing us over non-existential matters, including health misinformation and forced genetic alteration.
I have to admit, I am not without guilt here. We have used plastic. There is just no getting around it. While we “recycle” all we can, recycling plastic could be worse that burying it. I got a package bragging how “recycled” water bottles were used for the packing material. How were they used? They were shredded to thin strips to act as packing material. You now know that the shredding process likely introduced trillions of plastic microparticles into the biosphere from just the shredding of the plastic for that one shipment. Petroleum products are known be hormone disruptors. I will bet that microplastics will find themselves in that category as well, as they are getting absorbed into our bodies and our cells. While I believe that non-binary sexual/gender identities have been with us for centuries/millennia, I also believe the matter has multiplied in very recent years with all the pollution short-circuiting the sexual wiring in the developing fetus.
To me, this is just one more evil that has been unleashed on our planet by corporations preying on our demand for convenience without accountability. And, it is going to be a really tough one to solve. First and easiest step, in my opinion, is to simply not purchase any fabrics containing items that are man made from petroleum.
To Your Excellent Health!
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
In the first-ever plastics pollution weather forecast, scientists have predicted a downpour of range between 40 and 48 kilograms (88 and 106 pounds) of free-floating plastic bits hovering over Paris skies every 24 hours, French scientists involved told AFP.
If there is heavy rain, then the chances of "plastic fall" is likely to increase up to tenfold, they said.
This peculiar weather phenomenon comes at a time when diplomats from over 175 countries are converging at the French capital from Monday for five-day talks to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
"This should sharpen the focus of negotiators," Marcus Gover, head of plastics research at the Minderoo Foundation based in Perth, Australia, told AFP news agency.
WION Climate Tracker: Microplastics found in fresh Antarctica snow for first time
"Plastic particles break down into the environment and this toxic cocktail ends up in our bodies, where it does unimaginable damage to our health."
Scientists have found that most plastic particles falling over Paris' 2,500-square-kilometer (965-square-mile) catchment area are nylon and polyester, probably from clothing. The other bits are from tires, which shed them especially when vehicles brake.
They have estimated that up to 10 metric tons of microplastic fibres will settle over the Paris area over an entire year.
Forecast for next week covers only larger particles
The forecast for Paris next week only covers significantly larger particles, mostly synthetic fibres at least 50 microns in length. For comparison, human hair is about 80 microns (or 80,000 nanometers) across.
The study was done by scientists from Minderoo Foundation researchers who based their research in Paris starting in 2015, collecting samples from multiple locations year round and sifting through them in the laboratory
Measurements taken by other teams have replicated these findings in half a dozen cities around the world.
Microplastics have emerged to be a major health hazard for humanity as they are now found in rainwater, the food chain, and oceans, where 15 to 51 trillion particles are estimated to drift near the surface.
In recent years, the pace at with which microplastics have entered the food chain has baffled scientists, who have presented a plethora of research documenting its omnipresence and persistence.
https://www.wionews.com/world/from-monday-it-will-be-raining-plastics-in-paris-596553
A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies, by Matt Simon, is published by islandpress.org. I advise potential readers to tolerate or ignore that author's viewpoint on "global warming" if that is bothersome for them. Like many others here, I wear, eat, and sleep in certified organic cotton, hemp, and any other certifiable organically grown or raised fibers and foods, especially also certified by the Real Organic Project which I help support. My main raisers and growers are doubly certified. Life Without Plastic is a good resource which has been in business for many years. The main idea is to always think ahead as far as possible in time. For example, when you brush your teeth, consider what happens to all those microplastics released from your toothbrush filaments. Will those particles end up in you? Rinse them out, thoroughly, several times, from your mouth and throat to ensure minimal ingestion and absorption. I've yet to find or devise a non-plastic toothbrush which effectively cleans my teeth, but there is a non-plastic dental floss available made from silk. My favorite is unscented, waxed with carnauba wax, 100% compostable, from madebyradius.com. Please let us know of more such examples. Thanks for getting involved, sharing info, and putting your money where it counts for benefit of health.
Hey Doc, you inspired me and here's my reply:
https://marinfreedomrising.substack.com/p/yes-i-am-mr-plastics