Environmental degradation updates

 The term environmental degradation can also be referred to as climate change and pollution. The concept includes both global warming and toxic pollution.

Toxic pollution update

A SciAm article, Microplastics are linked to inflammation—scientists might have finally worked out why, discusses recent research about how microplastics might cause inflammation in humans and animals. The research that SciAm discusses was recently published in the Nature paper, Intrinsic physicochemical activity at microplastic–water interfaces. Short story kept short, with tiny microplastic particles in the micron (millionth of a meter) range, about the size of many bacteria, the interface or surface of the particle in water radically changes the local water chemistry. Water’s normal ability to hydrogen bond is disrupted at plastic particle surfaces because the plastics are water repellant (hydrophobic).

Examination of the chemistry at particle surfaces shows that highly reactive molecules are created and those appear to cause inflammation. Before this research, bulk plastics like water bottles were presumed to be inert or chemically not reactive. Before now, no one had looked for the status of chemistry of microplastics in water. A researcher commented that “for microplastics, this is especially important because fragmentation creates enormous amounts of new surface area”. As particle size decreases, the surface to volume ratio increases, creating a large surface area for microscopic plastic particles.

The paper reports that hydroxyl radicals, •OH, are formed in water that has microplastic particles in it. Hydroxyl radicals are very toxic. It is still unknown whether and to what extent the human body eventually converts microplastics in tissues into harmless end products. That may never happen. There is not yet evidence that the body reliably “digests” common microplastics into benign substances. At present, there isn’t even good measurements of how long different plastic particles last in the body. Research has shown that microplastics are present in human tissues. Their effects on human health are still uncertain, but early findings suggest harm, especially from chronic inflammation.

Fluorescent die in water was used to visualize the presence of reactive molecules at particle surfaces

Biological damage from reactive species

Global warming update

A SciAm article, Earth’s ‘life support systems’ are breaking down, climate scientists warn, reports that climate science experts say Earth is undergoing a “rapid destabilization” due to global warming. The SciAm article is reporting about a research paper, The 2026 state of the climate report: challenges and opportunities, that updates vital signs that track the state of Earth’s climate systems. The report is the latest in a series called the “State of the Climate”. For their report, climate science researchers measure 16 key markers of Earth’s climate. Seven of these have now reached “record extremes”. One author comments: “We are increasingly concerned about the risk of crossing climate tipping points that could lead to irreversible changes”.

The authors write: We are witnessing the rapid destabilization of the Earth’s climate system. This is no longer a warning for the future; it is a diagnosis of the present. Earth’s life-support systems are being pushed beyond stable limits, with changes unfolding faster than our ability to respond. Human activities are driving profound shifts in the atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere.

Q1: Are you comfortable with microplastics in your body doing Dog only knows what to it, for Dog only knows how long?

Q2: Are these observations that some people make about global warming and the degree of human-non-response to it reasonable and rational (paraphrasing): We are playing Russian Roulette with the climate because our climate situation could be far worse than we know because he has passed a tipping point(s) that cannot be undone if we stay on our current failing response trajectory?