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Plastics are poisoning us

newyorker.com

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Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#521

Post by daddylongstroke »

pvaldes wrote: post #79
realshadow wrote: post #11

I became a minimist to save the planet as much as i could. Its easier than any one could think you know. Here is what i have been doing for a decade and would receommend 1. Reusing plastic bags (i love cotton bags but not ideal). Fold and keep one or two in your pocket before you leave home 2. Support and use light software so you dont need to upgrade your gadgets (12y laptop i use) 3. Prepare and eat home cooked mea…

8 -> copper is toxic. People with some genetic traits will suffer cirrhosis and shouldn't use it for water storage. Cooking on copper pots specially should be avoided. Iron and Aluminum are safer.

Hmmm, copper is an essential trace nutrient found in the soil. Your body will not survive without it. As always, devil's in the details, but it is believed most humans are low in copper. Aluminum is a disaster for your body and the bodies of other creatures as far as we know.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#523

Post by hilbert42 »

rawgabbit wrote: post #282
hilbert42 wrote: post #65

When I was a kid almost all packaged foods came in tins or glass containers. So did sodas/soft drinks. Biscuits and cookies came in large tins or cardboard boxes and the grocer weighed out what you wanted and put the contents into a paper bag. The greengrocer would put your fruit in a paper bag and you, the shopper, would place those paper bags into a string shopping bag. Supermarkets, which were just coming into vog…

When I visited Tokyo a few years ago, I enjoyed the convenience of the vending machines and the fact they have 7-11/Lawson/Family Mart convenience stores on every downtown block. It was a bit concerning to see the huge amount of plastic bottles being consumed. I read that in the past, they would ship them to China for recycling but China no longer wanted to be a part of that trade. It seems to me there should be a be…

As I said, sometimes plastic has the advantage. For example, say you ride a bicycle and you carry a plastic water bottle in your pants cargo pocket (as I do), then if or when you crash to the ground it won't shatter as glass does. Same for beaches, broken glass amongst the sand is not a good combination.

These are good uses for plastic—especially if bottles have an effective deposit on them. (Even if you own a refillable bottle and consider it a permanent fixture, it too will ultimately be returned for the deposit at the end of its useful life).

It's not a matter of banning plastics, it's all about implementing clever regulations that protect the environment. Trouble is corporate and vested interests will fight us every inch of the way to stop them from being introduced.

On the matter of alternatives to plastic (and glass), this is difficult if we want to get rid of plastics altogether as presently there's not much to choose from for liquids other than aluminum or steel cans but they're also a good choice being easily recyclable (and the deposit system works well with them too).

Drink containers, whilst a big problem, can easily be solved with the deposit system. A much harder issue is the inappropriate use of plastics and that mainly takes two forms, (a), using cheap or the wrong type of plastic in applications where it breaks and thus is disposed of inappropriately, and (b), its use in packaging. Most packaging can be made from other non-plastic materials (cardboard, etc.) which are very satisfactory and environmentally friendly (as was done in the past).

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#524

Post by buzzert »

Really surprised not to see a single mention of masks in this article.

N95 and surgical masks are made from an energy intensive process that spin microplastics into a woven structure. When wearing these masks, you're subjected to a small amount of inhaled microplastics.

Normally this isn't a problem, since people used to wear these masks just for medical procedures, or for certain construction jobs that emit high amounts of particles, but at my office now I see people wearing these things for 8+ hours a day! And at the end of the day, hundreds upon hundreds of these masks are just thrown in the landfill (or in SF, just on the street).

This is the worst case of misuse/overuse of plastics by far, and nobody seems to talk about it. Please, if you insist on continuing to wear a mask, switch to a reusable one.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#525

Post by pvaldes »

gtk40 wrote: post #445
LinuxBender wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also a required element so I guess a question might be how many micrograms of copper are consumed per day by using a copper lined bottle. Adults should get 900 micrograms daily unless they are also consuming a lot of zinc and then one must do more math. Gastric bypass surgery is thought to be a risk factor for copper deficiency. Usage of proton pump inhibitors may also contribute to copper deficiency by reducing…

My plumber prefers copper pipes. He's replaced a couple of leaks (in PVC pipes) with copper at core junctions in my house. I never knew it was dangerous.

Copper is also more expensive, more showy, and probably easier to manipulate. But what it provides more benefit for the plumber is not necessarily the best for the client.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#526

Post by IIsi50MHz »

yowzadave wrote: post #231
abwizz wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i like to walk barefeet, so i worry about glass pollution all the time

What about sharp rocks? We need to send somebody around with a file to sand off the pointy edges

They tend to neither cut me nor embed themselves in me. Glass "conspires" to remain hidden in or on substances until the damage has been done.

Stainless steel containers are less likely to produce this scenario when dropped. (-:

Although…they may need some MagicEraser equivalent or a suitable soak to remove latent flavours and odors. /-:

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#527

Post by lukas099 »

yetihehe wrote: post #480
lukas099 wrote: post #458

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree, you can address it by keeping your car cleaned regularly at a car washing business that filters and recycles wash water.

Meh, there's a big gap in your problem/solution - driving in rain.

If you're cleaning it regularly then the rain won't wash off very many pollutants.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#528

Post by nukeman »

tfourb wrote: post #424
nukeman wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m curious to hear about what you did with the house (I’m thinking about building/renovating a house in a few years). Did you go DIY or hire a contractor? What were some of your replacements for plastics?

A note on the contractor question: The basic construction of the house is quite simple (post and beam not too dissimilar to the German "Fachwerk") and given the right tools and location could be done completely DIY. Check out this YouTube channel for traditional wood framing techniques: https://www.youtube.com/@KrisHarbour Our contractors used a more modern design approach and metal fasteners but it is basically the…

By the way, I never thanked you for the replies. This stuff is really great, thank you!
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