Pollution is “devastating” China’s natural ecosystem and contaminating its food supply

Anyone who has breathed the thick air on the streets of Shanghai or has seen photos of smog obscuring the Beijing skyline can confirm that pollution is a serious problem in China. Now, researchers have uncovered the precise extent to which manmade pollution is impacting China’s natural ecosystem, and its effects can be summed up in just one word: Devastating.

The study, which was led by the University of Exeter and published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, examined the true impact that air pollution has had on the local vegetation. In particular, they looked into the effects of aerosol particles and surface ozone on plants in the country and their ability to store and absorb carbon from the atmosphere.

The researchers revealed that the amount of carbon that plants can take in drops significantly as surface ozone rises, and this outweighs any effect that aerosol particles might have when it comes to spurring plants to boost their carbon intake. They warned that the only way to turn the situation around is by taking drastic action, and even then, they estimate that the damage to the country’s ecosystem could only be reduced by around 70 percent.

Of course, getting the situation to change in China seems like a long shot. A recent inspection found that more than 70 percent of Beijing companies violated air pollution regulations. The list of offenses was vast, including pumping out more emissions than permitted, using inadequate pollution control equipment, and operating without the proper licenses. The number of companies that did not meet environmental standards in the area exceeded 13,000.

There appear to be two problems at play here. The first is that firms simply ignore environmental protection policies, and this is compounded by the fact that officials do very little to enforce them.

With so much pollution, how can any food from China be safe?

It’s not just the air that is polluted in China; water and soil pollution are also impacting the nation’s food supply. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, there is not a single clean river in China, and more than half of its groundwater resources are severely contaminated. Four-fifths of the country’s major rivers are in such bad shape that they can no longer support fish or marine life.

An official government study shows that around 16 percent of the soil in China and 19.4 percent of its arable land is contaminated, with top pollutants identified as nickel, cadmium, and arsenic. All of this pollution is creating a toxic supply of food in the country, some of which makes its way to our shores.

In fact, a recent book by Natural News founder Mike Adams, Food Forensics, exposed how many of the foods and dietary supplements sold in our country that are imported from China are full of toxic heavy metals such as mercury and lead. His lab also found that certified organic rice protein imported from China contained significant contamination from industrial heavy metals like lead, tungsten and cadmium.

Adams wrote: “There are thousands of certified organic proteins, superfoods, herbal supplements and other products being imported into the United States and sold as ‘organic’ even though they are heavily contaminated with toxic heavy metals.

“In my own ICP-MS laboratory, I’m seeing very high levels of lead and cadmium in all sorts of products imported from China, including rice protein and Ginkgo Biloba herbal supplements.”

He pointed out that these superfoods and herbs produced in China can be imported into our country despite their heavy metal content because the USDA and FDA do not have any limits on the amount of heavy metals allowed in food. This is just one of many reasons it is vital to check the sources of everything you buy.

Sources:

ScienceDaily.com

BBC.com

FAO.org

BBC.com

NaturalNews.com

Microplastic pollution is the REAL threat to our oceans, warn scientists

Marine experts from the California State University recently pointed out that microplastic pollution has steadily become a major threat to the world’s oceans. According to the experts, microplastics are especially problematic as they are more challenging to manage due to their microscopic size. Microplastics, which measure less than five millimeters, are degraded plastic fibers that end up in the oceans. The researchers cautioned that marine creatures may readily ingest these microplastics as they could mistake them for food.

“Marine debris is everywhere; it’s on the surface of the ocean, it’s on our beaches, and its presence is increasing. We’re seeing more [marine debris] in our oceans now than in the past. The thing that is most disturbing to me is the not the ‘macrodebris’ that we can easily see with our eyes; it’s the ubiquity of microplastics that has completely blown me away. Microfibers and microplastics can displace critters’ natural food and natural behavior. The critter may need to work more and use more energy; it may block their intestinal tracts,” said marine expert Sean Anderson.

“Trash in the ocean, including significant amounts of microplastics, is a pervasive and significant problem in the waters off California as well as around the world. Microplastics are particularly concerning because of their ubiquitous distribution and disastrous impacts on marine life. [Micro plastics] act like a sponge, soaking up additional pollutants from the surrounding waters, only to leach them back out again, oftentimes into animals that have ingested the plastics. This leads to accumulation of toxic chemicals in marine life, even in situations where the animals are far from humans,” marine researcher Krista Kamer said in ScienceDaily.com.

In order to study the effects of microplastics on marine life, Anderson and his team examined digestive systems of multiple crab species along California’s coast. The researchers found that a majority of the species ingested microplastic fragments. In fact, one organism even showed nearly 100 fragments of microplastics in its system. However, the marine experts stressed that more studies are needed to better determine the effects and reach of microplastic pollution.

U.N. report reveals microplastic contamination in fish

Data from the United Nations (U.N.) Environment Project report revealed that more than a quarter of all fish sold around the world were contaminated with microplastics. To carry out the research, a team of researchers examined intestine samples from fish sold at markets in California and Indonesia. The researchers cautioned that consuming high quantities of marine food contaminated with microplastics may cause adverse medical conditions in humans.

The report also warned that people might be breathing in microplastics suspended in the air, which in turn may lead harmful effects similar to car fumes. According to the report, several areas around the world show higher levels of microplastic pollution. East Asia, for instance, was found to have 27 times more plastic particles in the oceans compared with other parts of the world. The report also noted that microplastic pollution may even affect significantly far places such as deep sea sediments and a Mongolian mountain lake. The report was presented last year at the U.N. Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya.

Sources include: 

ScienceDaily.com

Independent.co.uk

Global LEAD pollution only appeared on our planet following the industrial revolution: It’s definitely caused by human activity

While the mainstream media and the global elites sensationalize climate change and the impending doom caused by mankind’s “carbon footprint,” there are more serious pollution threats actually impacting human health. The element we should be more concerned about is lead.

It’s ignorant to think that an intergovernmental elite should confiscate the wealth of Nations to control levels of atmospheric gases such as carbon (which is a really a miracle molecule that makes up the basis of most all living things.)

Why aren’t we instead working together to rid the world of pollutants that take a physical and mental toll on our health? Lead contamination of soil, air and water is a serious problem, and its toxic pervasiveness today has been caused by human activity since the industrial age. Human activity such as mining and smelting have brought lead forward, into the soil, water, and air.

According to the World Health Organization, there is no safe level of lead exposure; lead exposure damages the kidneys, liver, bones, and brain. Scientists once believed that lead naturally occurred in the air, caused by earthly processes such as volcanic eruptions. However, scientists from Harvard University now provide geological evidence showing a time period in Earth’s history where lead was not present in the air. Lead has slowly become a problem since the beginning of the industrial age, when human activity began bringing this heavy metal to the forefront.

The human activity and pollutant that we should be concerned about

Author of the study, Alex More, climate scientist at Harvard University, told the Guardian, “We have basically been poisoning ourselves for about 2,000 years.” To make the determination, the researchers extracted an ice column from a glacier in the Swiss Alps and analyzed 43 meters of the ice core. The column of ice they studied began to form during a time period over 2,000 years ago, between 1349 and 1353 during the Black Death era. Bubbles of gas within the ice allow the scientists to analyze the composition of the air at that time in history. Using mass spectrometry and radiocarbon dating, the researchers were able to analyze the air composition month to month, over 2,000 years ago to present.

Chris Loveluck, an archaeologist from the University of Nottingham, said that lead levels were practically non-existent before human mining and smelting activity in Europe. Due to the ice core’s precise geographic location in the middle of civilization, the researchers were able to determine that the lead contribution came from Europe. Even before the 19th century industrial revolution, lead pollution was correlated with human activity. “We have for the first time a lead reading of what it would look like without humans on this part of the planet,” he told the Guardian.

Comparing the data to other historical mining records, the researchers made a strong correlation between mining and smelting operations in Great Britain with the rise in atmospheric lead. The research paper, published in the journal GeoHealth, concluded that human mining and smelting activities are the reason why there is so much lead pollution on the European continent.

This is the kind of human activity and pollution that humans should be concerned about. Airborne lead and this heavy metal’s increasing presence in municipal water sources is direct threat to human brain function and overall health. Visit CWC labs to keep up with important lead testing results from municipal water samples across the U.S. and view the latest results in NaturalScienceJournal.org.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

CWCLabs.com

NaturalScienceJournal.org

Sri Lanka’s massive garbage piles now collapsing in deadly avalanches like a scene ripped right out of Idiocracy

If you’ve ever seen Idiocracy, you’re probably familiar with the “Great Garbage Avalanche of 2505.” Unfortunately for the real world, garbage avalanches have already started. It seems we’ve got a 500-year head start on making the dystopian world depicted in the film a reality. If we’re actually honest with ourselves, it’s obvious that the would-be joke movie is a startling mirror image of the direction our society is headed in. Slightly exaggerated, perhaps — but sadly becoming more accurate than not.

Sri Lanka’s capital city, Colombo, was devastated by the collapse of a garbage mountain with a height in excess of 300 feet in mid-April. After four days, local authorities were reportedly forced to close down their primary dump along the northeastern corridor of the city.

The collapse resulted in a massive landslide of rubbish that wiped out 145 homes and took at least 30 lives. Hundreds of troops were still looking for missing people days after the accident took place. The hope of finding survivors began to wane after four days of searching through the rubble, officials said. Six people have reportedly been missing since the garbage avalanche occurred, and some reports say that up to 100 people were trapped beneath the landslide of mud and rubbish. According to NBC News, authorities are having a hard time determining the exact number of missing people.

Residents of the area, who mostly live in shanties, have been calling for the government to “remove” the dump due to health problems being caused by its presence. Some are also urging the government to assist those who lost their homes to the massive tidal wave of garbage. Liyanage Menaka, a survivor of the collapse who’s home was destroyed, commented, “The lives of more than 100 are lost. What we are asking is (that they) give us a solution and take care of our kids.”

Now, the president of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, has banned anti-garbage collection protests. Anyone caught trying to prevent city authorities from conducting garbage collection and disposal reportedly faces prosecution and an indefinite period of jail time. “Any person who by word or deed causes a disruption of garbage disposal will be guilty of an offence [sic],” the presidential order declares. Authorities say that they are disposing of garbage in alternative locations, but is that really going to be enough to combat this growing problem?

While city officials from Colombo say that they will be finding new locations to put their rubbish, the issue of garbage accumulation is far from over. And it’s not just a Sri Lankan concern; garbage is a global issue. Putting waste in another part of the city or country is merely a temporary solution to a long-term problem. The garbage landslide in Sri Lanka is likely just the beginning.

As the Los Angeles Times reports, in 2016 it was estimated that the world’s nations produced 1.3 billion tons of waste — and by 2100, that number is expected to climb to 4 billion tons. Trash is a growing problem, and over half of the world’s people don’t even have access to adequate waste collection. It is likely that we will literally be drowning in our own waste some day in the ever-nearing future. As urbanization and industrialization expand in countries around the world, the amount of waste created will also skyrocket. As reported by the Times, “The United Nations Environment Program predicts the amount of waste will probably double in lower-income African and Asian cities as a result of population growth, urbanization and rising consumption.”

The UN says that public waste systems are already having trouble keeping up with expansion, and that the waste-producing trend seems to have no bounds. The global trash problem brings many harmful effects, though they are not all as clearly visible as a 300-foot trash mountain. Damages to the environment, human health and safety will be the outcome of our immense production of waste. Nothing is without consequence, and the rate at which humans are polluting the earth will certainly come with a hefty price tag.

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

NBCNews.com

NDTV.com

LATimes.com

Coca-Cola responsible for polluting the earth with 100 BILLION plastic bottles, reveals alarming investigation

When soda giant Coca-Cola was asked to participate in a survey of the world’s top six drinks manufacturers by the environmental organization Greenpeace last year, they refused. And boy, has that decision come back to haunt them! Greenpeace went ahead with their survey anyway. In the absence of full disclosure by the company itself, the environmental group examined the yearly sales figures of certain Coca-Cola products, and determined their proportion of the company’s overall packaging mix since 2012, to determine the company’s global plastic impact. Greenpeace calls its findings “eye-popping” and “breath-taking.” They found that Coca-Cola sells between 108 and 128 billion plastic bottles each year – that’s over 3,000 such bottles every second!

The survey found that over 60 percent of Coca-Cola’s global packaging consists of single-use plastic bottles, up 12 percent from 2008 to 2015. (RELATED: For more news like this be sure to visit Enviro.news)

And though the company set its own target of increasing plastic recovery and recycling rates to 75 percent by 2020, the rate at which this is taking place is actually declining steadily. Greenpeace figures indicate that it dropped from 63 percent in 2013, to just 59 percent in 2015.

Greenpeace has accused Coca-Cola of an irresponsible lack of regard for the plastic pollution crisis being faced by the world’s oceans.

“Our oceans simply can’t stomach any more of Coca-Cola’s plastic,” said Louise Edge, the senior oceans campaigner for Greenpeace U.K.

Of course, Coca-Cola is not taking these allegations lying down, and has expressed disappointment at the findings.

“Coca-Cola is one of the few consumer goods companies whose packaging is 100 per cent [sic] recyclable. In Great Britain, we have reduced the amount of packaging we use by 15 percent since 2007 and we currently use 25 per cent [sic] recycled plastic in all of our bottles,” a company spokesperson claimed.

The company also claims to be doing all it can to deal with the plastic pollution situation globally. They insist they are increasing the use of rPET (recycled plastic) wherever local legislation makes it possible and feasible to do so, and that they are actively involved in discussions with various parties about how to reduce their pollution footprint, while increasing recovery and recycling rates. The spokesperson also noted that Coca-Cola has agreed to join the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ litter strategy working group to try to address these issues. Around 16 million plastic bottles are dumped into the environment each day in the U.K. alone. (RELATED: Read more about Coca-Cola’s shenanigans here.)

One could argue, of course, that though Coca-Cola is trying to take the noble high ground on this issue by insisting it is doing all it can to deal with the issue, the fact is that as the world’s largest soft drinks producer it is their responsibility to deal with this issue, and to do so urgently.

“We’re calling on Coca-Cola to ditch throwaway plastic, embrace reusable packaging and make sure the remaining packaging is made from 100% recycled content, not the miserable 7% it currently averages globally,” said Edge.

Greenpeace recommends a deposit-return scheme as an excellent way to combat the plastic pollution problem.

Something certainly has to be done urgently. We as consumers don’t see the plastic piling up somewhere or being dumped in the oceans, and it becomes a case of “out of sight, out of mind.” However, the fact is that over 8 million tons of plastic are now being dumped into the ocean each year via the inland streams, rivers and other waterways that connect to it.

When that plastic reaches the ocean, a combination of wave action and UV exposure causes it to break down into tiny pieces (microparticles). These pieces end up in the guts of birds, turtles, marine mammals, fish and eventually, humans.

Coca-Cola – and each one of us – needs to take responsibility for the problem and start doing something about it … now.

Sources:

Independent.co.uk

HuffingtonPost.co.uk