Which sounds more urgent: "global warming" or "pollution blanket overheating planet"? In this actionable talk, communications strategist John Marshall explains why we need to rethink how we talk about climate change -- and offers small but mighty language adjustments to get people to more intuitively understand and care about this existential threat. About the speaker John Marshall · Environmental advocate, communications strategist John Marshall is changing the way people talk about climate change so that we can better understand and act against it.

How To Use Art To Tackle Plastic Pollution In Our Oceans

Alejandro Durán uses art to spotlight the ongoing destruction of our oceans' ecosystems. In this breathtaking talk, he shows how he meticulously organizes and reuses plastic waste from around the world that washes up on shores -- everything from water bottles to prosthetic legs -- to create vivid, environmental artworks that may leave you mesmerized and shocked. This talk was presented at “We the Future,” a special event in partnership with the Skoll Foundation and the United Nations Foundation.

 About the speaker Alejandro Durán · Multimedia artist Alejandro Durán collects the international trash washing up on the Caribbean coast of Mexico, transforming it into aesthetic yet disquieting artworks that wake us up to the threat of plastic pollution.

Combatting air pollution with nature

Combatting air pollution with nature:

Technologies to mitigate pollution have become widespread in recent years, but scientists are now exploring a new, pared-down approach: using nature to restore ecological balance. They report their findings in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology.

Newswise — Air pollution is composed of particles and gases that can have negative impacts on both the environment and human health. Technologies to mitigate pollution have become widespread in recent years, but scientists are now exploring a new, pared-down approach: using nature to restore ecological balance. They report their findings in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology.
In the decades since the Clean Air Act of 1970, air quality across the U.S. has improved dramatically. However, according to the American Lung Association, four in 10 people in the U.S. still live in areas with poor air quality, which can result in serious health effects such as asthma, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. Technology to control and remove pollutants can be costly and often requires a great deal of energy. As an alternative, researchers are looking to nature-based solutions (NBS), a form of sustainable infrastructure that uses natural, rather than manufactured, elements. NBS are adaptable, cost-effective and can support native wildlife, making it a truly “green” solution in combatting pollution and climate change. To better understand the feasibility of NBS to reduce pollution, Bhavik Bakshi and colleagues wanted to perform a data-driven analysis.

The researchers used publicly available data and calculated factors, such as current vegetation cover, county-level emissions from air pollutants and land area available for restoration, to determine the potential benefits of NBS across the U.S. Next, they calculated the financial aspect of implementing NBS to mitigate various air pollutants. The team found that in 75% of counties analyzed, it was more economical to use nature-based solutions for mitigating emissions than to implement technological interventions. Counties that were not strong candidates for NBS either did not have enough available land, or the cost of technological methods was less than that of restoration. Overall, the researchers found that both urban and rural populations could benefit from NBS, though many environmental factors should be considered before putting the approach into practice.

Interactive versions of the maps can be accessed here: https://sustainable.engineering.osu.edu/software.

The researchers acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation.

This paper’s abstract will be available on November 6 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.9b01445

The American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

A Personal Air-Qualtiy Tracker

How often do you think about the air you're breathing? Probably not enough, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Romain Lacombe. He introduces Flow: a personal air-quality tracker that fits in your hand and monitors pollution levels in real time. See how this device could help you track and understand pollution street by street, hour by hour -- and empower you to take action to improve your health. This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page. About the speaker Romain Lacombe · Environmental entrepreneur Romain Lacombe creates technology to track and forecast air quality levels in real time.

The High Price Of Cheap Clothes

The High Price Of Cheap Clothes

 What are we doing to the Environment?

Story at-a-glance

• Each year, an estimated 80 billion garments are sold worldwide, and each year, Americans alone throw away 15 million tons of clothing — most of it having been worn just a few times
• The “disposable clothing” trend completely disregards the toxic toll each garment takes on environmental and human health throughout the manufacturing and distribution processes involved in its creation
• Leather tanning is a chemical-heavy process typically relegated to impoverished developing nations that lack toxic waste management regulations
• The Buriganga River in Bangladesh has turned black from the toxins released from the Dhaka tannery district, as has the local river in Xintang, China, thanks to the denim industry, which dumps untreated dye water into it
• In Pakistan, the fourth-largest cotton producer in the world, the cotton industry has polluted much of the groundwater, rendering it unsafe to drink

Peeled Oranges Sold In Plastic Boxes Cause Outrage

Peeled Oranges Sold In Plastic Boxes Causes Outrage

 Natalie Gordon took a photo in her local brand of Wholefoods, and put it on Twitter. She wrote: "If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn't need to waste so much plastic on them." Her photo has now been retweeted more than 500,000 times, and attracted hundreds of comments.

Well, Oranges already have a skin so where is the need to cover them with plastic.  This is a clear case of deliberately polluting the environment.

We Need To Change The Way We Shop

 Alarming new evidence shows how plastic containers pollute our world.  They pose grave dangers to the environment.  Everything we buy is pretty much packaged in plastic, is it any wonder that we are now paying the price.

 

• Inside the Garbage of the World explores how plastic trash has altered the composition of our oceans, and the impact this may eventually have on life
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• 4.7 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans each year, where wave action turns them into a plastic soup that damages sea life and marine ecosystems
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• The plastic to plankton ratio in the North Pacific is increasing rapidly and exponentially. Tests in 1999 found a plastic to plankton ratio of six to one. By 2007, that ratio had jumped to 36 to one

We Need To Change Way We Shop To Save Our Planet

Pesticides Put Global Food Production at Grave Risk

 It would appear that we really destroy ourselves.  Everywhere we look is full of dangers in the pollution.


Pesticides Put Global Food Production at Grave Risk

Danger to Pregnant Women from Mercury in Fish

 This article is most important to pregnant women.  It is alarming that we are polluted everywhere we go, fish which used to be safe is now under threat because of all the waste that is dumped into the sea and the atmosphere.  Where will it all end.  One tries to think positive but these are the facts.  Mercury in particular, albeit, like other minerals the body needs in small quantities, but on the scale it threatens us now it is lethal.  Take extra care


FDA to Update Fish Consumption Advisory for Pregnant Women!