221–230 of 339 posts
A modern, worse version of lead in gasoline.
I don't think you understand how bad lead is for neural development. It's far worse than plastic. And with leaded gas, there was no escaping it. At least you can generally live a no-plastic or reduced-plastic lifestyle. We literally dosed an entire generation with aerosolized heavy metals.
When I clean the lint out of my dryer, I can see a very faint cloud of particles. Should I be worried about breathing those? I presume a portion of them are plastic from synthetic fibers. Should I be wearing a mask to load/unload the dryer?
Use a mask or try not to breathe it as much as possible.
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I don't think you understand how bad lead is for neural development. It's far worse than plastic. And with leaded gas, there was no escaping it. At least you can generally live a no-plastic or reduced-plastic lifestyle. We literally dosed an entire generation with aerosolized heavy metals.
Leaded gas was probably worse, but you can't escape microplastics. They are ubiquitous in all environments now.
Of course not to defend plastics or anything. It's just relatively less worse than lead.
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> I typically buy two liter sodas in plastic bottles and avoid softer plastics. If you drink that plastic is the least of your problems > It's also potentially a reason to switch to an electric vehicle -- to avoid exposure to gas fumes while refueling your vehicle. Car interiors are off-gassing nasty shit all the time, especially when they sit in the sun
Exactly! I dont think I have had a 'soda' in at least 15 years. I havent been able to avoid plastic in my life - but I try. For example, pretty much every spoon in my drawer is Bamboo. I have a 'hippy' friend, and he has nearly zero plastic in his kitchen - and he exclusively eats with wooden utensils, stoneware or wooden bowls. I think that ALL single-use-plastics should be replaced by corn-plant-based materials. Si…
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will be interesting to see if plastic ends up being our modern day equivalent to Rome and their lead pipes
Sounds like leaded gas. Wasn’t banned until 1980s. Our leaders are 80 year old post war shell shocked, Cold War paranoids who huffed leaded gas fumes for decades. Explains quite a lot actually.
I personally try to avoid canned drinks and foods to avoid metal poisoning. I typically buy two liter sodas in plastic bottles and avoid softer plastics. Styrofoam cups and other styrofoam food containers are awful. If you get hot food in a styrofoam go box, the box is often visibly marked by contact with hot food and you can smell it and taste it. It's also potentially a reason to switch to an electric vehicle -- to…
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It's kinda like saying people can be reasonably healthy and still smoke some cigarettes. True enough, but if someone is trying to be healthy that's a pretty obvious change to make.
Wine would be a better analogy. It contains a large amount of a known carcinogen (alcohol), but plenty of people who try to be healthy don't feel particularly guilty about drinking some wine every now and then.
It would be worth checking that the concentrations of microplastics used in this study are of a similar concentration to those found naturally. Otherwise the research is not very meaningful.
> After two months of daily ingestion of nanoplastics at the estimated human consumption dose, nanoplastic-exposed mice exhibited reduced cognition and short-term memory as assessed by standard neurological assessments such as the open-field test, novel object recognition assay, and the Morris water maze.
I'm a bit confused about whether it makes sense to feed the "estimated human consumption dose" of something to a mouse when a human weighs something like 2000 times as much.
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What are the concerns about the “plastic” carpets in American homes? They are pretty much everywhere. They shed fibers all the time. We’re in contact with it all the time.
Yeah, polyester/nylon/polypropylene are everywhere. There are some really good, reasonably priced all wool ones available here: https://hookandloom.com/browse/undyed-natural-wool-rugs/loom... They’re so much nicer than the plastic type, and seem durable so far (the thick flat weave type has been holding up well on our stairs).
Unless you have kids or pets, or live somewhere especially humid, in which case you will regret not getting nylon.
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Changing the container your soda comes in is like sanding off splinters from the sharpened stake you're about to stab into your leg.
That's a ridiculous analogy. What about suger-free sodas, or sparkling water without even artificial sweeteners? What about people who drink soda, but still don't go over the daily recommended sugar intake, and otherwise have healthy lifestyles? I'd be willing to make two assumptions: 1. A gaping wound in your leg is probably less healthy than a moderately-high sugar consumption. 2. People who are concerned about nan…