Have you had your plastic today? Chances are you did.
You might want to increase your intake of white button mushrooms and kelp seaweed right about now.
Microplastic pollution is now “spiralling around the globe”, according to a study of airborne plastic particles.
The researchers said human pollution has led to a global plastic cycle, akin to natural processes such as the carbon cycle, with plastic moving through the atmosphere, oceans and land. The result is the “plastification” of the planet, said one scientist.
The analysis calls plastic pollution one of the most pressing environmental issues of the 21st century. It indicates that the billions of tonnes of plastic discarded into the oceans and land and being broken down into tiny pieces are being thrown back into the air by road traffic and winds over seas and farmland.
People are already known to breathe, drink and eat microplastics and the other research suggests levels of pollution will continue to rise rapidly. The scientists said this “raises questions on the impact of accumulating plastics in the atmosphere on human health. The inhalation of particles can be irritating to lung tissue and lead to serious diseases.”
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Microplastic pollution has been detected across the planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. The revelation in December of small plastic particles in human placentas was described by scientists as “a matter of great concern”.
Plastic is getting inside of your body whether you literally ingest it or not.
You’re part of the club now.
You’re breathing it in.
There is no escape.
This is your world now:
But hey – let’s talk about carbon credits, huh?