Marine litter: the issue

Here is an interesting article I found, I hope you find it informative too!

Litter is found in all the world's oceans and seas, even in remote areas far from human contact and obvious sources of the problem. The continuous growth in the amount of solid waste thrown away, and the very slow rate of degradation of most items, are together leading to a gradual increase in marine litter found at sea, on the seafloor and coastal shores. It is an economic, environmental, human health and aesthetic problem posing a complex and multi-dimensional challenge.

Marine litter results from human behaviour, whether accidental or intentional. The greatest sources of it are land-based activities, including: waste released from dumpsites near the coast or river banks, the littering of beaches, tourism and recreational use of the coasts, fishing industry activities and ship-breaking yards. Storm-related events, like floods, flush the resulting waste out to sea where it sinks to the bottom or is carried on coastal eddies and ocean currents. The major sea-based sources include: abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear shipping activities and legal and illegal dumping.

All this can cause serious economic losses. Coastal communities are facing increased expenditure on beach cleaning, public health and waste disposal. The tourism sector has to deal with loss of income and bad publicity. The shipping industry is impacted by higher costs associated with fouled propellers, damaged engines, removing litter and managing waste in harbours. The fishing industry faces reduced and lost catch, damaged nets and other fishing gear, fouled propellers and contamination, which also affects fish farming and coastal aquaculture.

Marine litter can also lead to loss of biodiversity and of ecosystem functions and services. For instance, discarded, lost, or abandoned fishing gear are continuing to fish and trap animals, entangling and potentially killing marine life, smothering habitat and acting as a hazard to navigation.

Microplastics are also raising concerns. Toxins including DDT, BPA and pesticides adhere to these tiny particles of plastics that can be accidently ingested by small aquatic life. Once ingested, the toxins biomagnify as they move up the food chain, accumulating in birds, sea life and possibly humans.

Causes of marine litter are both cultural and multi-sectoral, resulting from poor practices in managing solid wastes, a lack of infrastructure, insufficient understanding among the public of the potential consequences of its actions, inadequate legal and enforcement systems and a shortage of financial resources.

As you have probably read on one of my earlier blog (s) this is a terrible crisis that the planet is facing at this very moment, it does seem that it is out of our control, but it is not!  Don´t give up.

The blog song for today is : " Do you remember" by Pulp

TTFN

 

 

Global Earth Challenge Most of the air pollution we breathe indoors comes from outside

 

We usually think of air pollution as an outdoors issue — something we should worry about while outside. But that’s a common misconception; the vast majority of our exposure to the most harmful outdoor air pollutants actually occurs indoors. This has important implications for how we think about — and act on — both indoor and outdoor air pollution.

What is fine particulate matter and how does it affect our health?

Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is a collection of tiny particles that are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. These particles are so small that once inhaled, they can penetrate our lungs and even get into our bloodstream.

Chronic PM2.5 exposure is associated with a number of symptoms and health issues. Short-term effects include irritation of the eyes, nose, throat or lungs; sneezing; coughing; shortness of breath; and worsening of asthma.

Long-term exposure can lead to stroke; ischemic heart disease; chronic respiratory diseases and infections; neonatal disorders; vision loss; and tracheal, bronchus and lung cancer. And unfortunately, even low levels of PM2.5 (at concentrations below current national standards) have been linked to greater mortality.

Exposure to PM2.5 indoors

Infographic of sources of PM2.5

Outdoor air is not limited to just the outdoors. It gets inside through windows, doors and HVAC systems, bringing pollutants along with it. Most of our exposure to ambient (outdoor) PM2.5 actually occurs indoors — and over two thirds (67%) occur in our homes.

This has devastating health consequences: we now know that indoor exposure to outdoor PM2.5 is responsible for about half of all deaths associated with PM2.5 pollution.

Sources of outdoor PM2.5 include vehicle exhaust, burning of fossil fuels and firewood and non-human activities such as wildfires and dust storms. Roadway traffic is a significant source of ambient air pollution. 15% of schools in the U.S. (6.4 million children) are located less than 250 meters (820 feet) away from a major roadway.

Fortunately, traffic-related air pollutants decrease with increasing distance to major roadways, with many pollutants indistinguishable from background levels at a distance of 250 meters or more. However, schools located closer than that may expose students to higher levels of traffic-related air pollution, which has been associated with increased asthma diagnosis and decreased working memory scores.

Some particulate matter can also be generated indoors, from smoking, cooking, cleaning, burning candles and using personal care products. However, indoor-generated PM2.5 accounts for a smaller proportion of our overall exposure to PM2.5 (in developed countries).

How can we reduce our exposure to air pollution while indoors?

While the effects of PM2.5 pollution may seem daunting, there are steps that we all can take to breathe cleaner — and easier.

• Increase outdoor air ventilation rate. Whether through mechanical ventilation systems or opening windows when outdoor conditions are good, ventilation is an effective way to improve indoor air quality.
• Use an air quality monitor to track air pollution levels. Many consumer-grade monitors are available online.
• Get an air purifier. Use of portable air purifiers in homes, offices and schools has been found to reduce PM2.5 by up to 92%. During wildfires, the use of air purifiers can help reduce PM2.5 exposure by 55–92%. Delos offers an array of advanced air purification solutions. The Delos Compact, which uses patented disinfecting filtration system (DFS) technology, is able to remove 99.99% of particles 0.3 microns in size, which is more efficient than the HEPA standard testing efficiency requirement.
• Stay informed about outdoor levels of air pollution in your area, or buy your own outdoor air quality monitor. If the outdoor air quality is poor, keep your windows closed.
  
• Consider switching to a hybrid or an electric car to help reduce the amount of particulate matter your vehicle emits into the air.

So as you can imagine, this is a big problem in the cities all over the world.  We are fortunate here in Menorca in the fact that it is such a small island and we can walk and use bikes a lot.  We are over-run in the summer with hire cars, but the goverment here are taking steps to reduce the amount of hire cars on the island.  In 2019 it really was quite ridiculous the amount of cars here.  There was nowhere to park for the residents and workers because all of the tourists wanted to park near to where they were staying and there was nowhere left for the people who live and work here.  

The blog song for today is:"Cars" by Gary Numan

 

TTFN

End Plastic Pollution Plastic-free living for the whole family

Here is a little bit of information from Earthday.org!  I have found it very informative and helpful. The person who wrote the article is based in the United States, but the contents can be applied to anywhere in the world.  I have taken bits out of it and applied it to here in Menorca.

"Making the change to plastic-free living can be difficult as an individual, and can be even more difficult when living at home with others. Routines and habits are often passed down from older family members to younger ones, which can perpetuate certain lifestyle habits that are plastic heavy or unsustainable.

Engaging family members or roommates is an important step toward building plastic-free habits.

While changing your shower and sink routines is a highly personal action that is dependent on each individual person, household-wide changes including food shopping, household cleaning and food storage can encourage a group to participate together.

The key to saving our oceans and local marine ecosystems is to reconfigure our personal waste habits and limit our plastic use.

Need an extra push to get started going plastic free? I’ll show you just how I did it by starting small and thinking big.

After transitioning to a plastic-free shower, I moved onto making my sink-based routines plastic free. Looking at the overwhelming amount of plastic on my sink worktop, I realised that I needed to do something about it. Many of the products that we use for hygiene purposes — toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, hand sanitiser — are packaged in single-use plastic containers.

Oftentimes, people don’t recycle or don’t do so correctly because it’s confusing to understand what can or can’t be recycled and how. For example, some containers for deodorants must be disassembled and toothpaste tubes mailed back to manufacturers in order to be properly recycled instead of trashed. An easier solution is purchasing products that are entirely recyclable, compostable and plastic free.

I purchased glass bottles that can be reused for hand soap by using water-activated tablets, natural (paraben, sulfate and aluminum free) deodorant sold in recyclable push tubes and hand sanitiser sold in aluminum cans with reusable pumps. I even discovered a plastic-free toothpaste alternative by using toothpaste tablets that I bite down on and active with water along with my compostable toothbrush. 

Overall, I’m now spending about $276 per year on my sink products versus the $288 per year I spent when they were plastics based. The prices are quite comparable, meaning you don’t have to spend more money to have a plastic-free sink. All it takes to get started is some research and a little bit of trial and error to make an impact.

Up-and-coming companies understand that the plastic-free movement isn’t going away anytime soon, and that to stay in the game they have to adapt their products for climate literate and eco-conscious citizens. You can make a pledge the to switch out one product at a time to a plastic-free substitute. Over time, the benefits will add up and we can begin reducing the amount of plastics we encounter on a daily basis.

Modifying food purchasing habits can go a long way in reducing plastic. Most products we come across in the grocery store rely on plastic in some way — whether that be for transport or packaging. By bringing our own grocery and produce bags, my family has reduced the amount of plastic we use each week.

While we had made plastic-free switches for shopping, we noticed how much food we were still wasting at home. So, we began composting to grow closer to becoming entirely waste free. Composting can reduce the amount of food waste that your household contributes to landfills on a daily basis and create nutrient-dense compost that can be used for gardening. 

Other plastic-free group activities include cleaning and storage of shared groceries. A number of companies have created plastic-free alternatives to cleaning products, including window cleaner, dishwasher tablets and washing machine tablets. All of these products have reduced my family’s plastic footprint.

Another household change that we decided to make was using plastic-free produce containers for leftover food. By using a mixture of glass containers and reusable produce bags, we have reduced the need for single-use plastic ziploc bags and takeout containers.

It’s important to remember that while living sustainably and plastic free is beneficial to the planet, previously purchased products should still be used instead of thrown away. As we had found new products, we decided to donate the previous products to a women’s shelter. Sustainability isn’t yet accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities and individuals living in poverty, so we made sure that our products would still be put to use by those in need.

For more tips and tricks on how to reduce your overall plastic consumption sign up for EARTHDAY.ORG’s End Plastic Pollution campaign. Become a member to support our work against plastic and to join a growing community of environmental advocates working to protect the planet we all rely on"

 Some of the actions are so easy to do and are so small that we should be able to do at least one of them, which is a start!

The blog song for today is: "Time" by Pink Floyd

TTFN

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