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Downvoting never helps. Anyway you should read the article before you comment. Its described in the article itself that microplastic attracts/collects toxins (

Downvoting never helps. Anyway you should read the article before you comment. Its described in the article itself that microplastic attracts/collects toxins (heavy metals etc.). We already know that plenty of animals are dying because of plastic as well. Also general speaking, while we live longer everyday, it still can mean that we live longer but worse due to microplastic and its affects on us. Sleep issues perhaps? Alzheimer perhaps? Depression? For me personally speaking, this feels very unnatural (and i don't like this word at all normally) and its sickening to know that we produce a product and it is now floating in our bloodstreams and it doesn't need to be there. We have had millions of years of an selfs sustainable ecosystem and we arrive, produce an enormous amount of plastic and taint our own environment in such an idiotic way. It is now everywhere. We found it in rainwater, on mountain tops etc. 1950 0 tones of plastic production per year vs. 2015 350 Million tons. It also weirds me out a little bit to see that other people actually don't care or don't see any issues with it.

saberience 6y ago
It's not that I don't care. However, I object to the huge amount of media/news stories driven by fear which leads to a generalized anxiety and depression about basically everything. If you read the modern news and take it at all seriously, you will live in a constant fear of doing just about anything. Drinking water? You're drinking scary microplastics. Walking outside? Don't do that, the air pollution is going to give you cancer or other nasty lung diseases. Stay in and have a meal? Don't eat bread/carbs/sugar/red meat/tuna/legumes/anything processed, that will give you heart disease or cancer too, inflammation. etc etc etc. Basically everything you can put into your body or do with your time has been associated with death or otherwise making you sick and what can the average person do about it? Basically fucking nothing. The average person can do nothing about microplastics except be afraid of them. Also the average person cannot afford to have a healthy diet or avoid plastic and in addition, their diets are usually so bad that even if microplastics have any deleterious health effect, it's liable to be several orders of magnitude less bad than the effects of junk food or alcohol. All the above goes to say why I think microplastics are something for scientists to worry about now because I believe the psychological impacts of all this fear are far worse than the thing itself. Anxiety and depression, undoubtedly made worse by all the fear driven media kill more people every year or otherwise reduce quality of life far more than I believe microplastics do.
- EinwegPlastik 6y ago
  I would object to it if i had the feeling we are taking it serious. We don't. What the avg person could do? They could actually buy less plastic products; Can write to politician, to companies, as employees talk to collegues and bosses, as a boss make the right decision. Everyone of us can do so much. And honestly, if this is the first time its scientific proven that there is microplastic already in a fetus, thats news worthy to me. I will also not get into your strawman argument; Other toxins, air pollution etc. is bad but doesn't make the microplastic situation any better or worse. Based on what you write 'its not that i dont' care' why do you take so much effort to take the issue down? Its not that the issue will suddenly have theonly priority of our society just because you also think its wrong.
- rohan1024 6y ago
  > huge amount of media/news stories driven by fear which leads to a generalized anxiety and depression about basically everything. Are we so fragile that we can't handle the general anxiety and fear that stems from such articles. I think we humans have been having these emotions since the beginning of time. They ensured our survival in past and today we have far better techniques to manage these emotions. The thing is fear and anxiety have been turned into hallmark of negative emotions by our society. As far as I understand those emotions are necessary for our survival. They are the pointers that something isn't working in individuals life and change is needed. Fear and anxiety throws a man into action. I think we should stop putting good/bad labels to human emotions. If they exist, they are serving some purpose. Embracing and facing them will improve the life of individuals and society as whole.
- ardy42 6y ago
  > It's not that I don't care. However, I object to the huge amount of media/news stories driven by fear which leads to a generalized anxiety and depression about basically everything. So, in summary, you think ignorance is bliss. > The average person can do nothing about microplastics except be afraid of them. Also the average person cannot afford to have a healthy diet or avoid plastic and in addition, their diets are usually so bad that even if microplastics have any deleterious health effect, it's liable to be several orders of magnitude less bad than the effects of junk food or alcohol. That's not actually true, or is only true if you inappropriately restrict yourself to uncoordinated individual action, and deny the possibility of collective action. Many people live in democracies, and a pretty well trodden path to change in them is: 1. popular awareness of an issue, 2. pressure put on political bodies to do something, 3. legislation or other political action addressing the issue. This is not a clockwork process, and often nothing comes of it, but your idealized state of ignorance would prevent it completely.
MisterTea 6y ago
> For me personally speaking, this feels very unnatural (and i don't like this word at all normally) and its sickening to know that we produce a product and it is now floating in our bloodstreams and it doesn't need to be there. At this point we're so inundated in plastic trash that it has now entered our bodies. Just let that sink in. There's so much garbage its overflowing into your body. Grotesque.
- titzer 6y ago
  It is grotesque. But it is the way of things on Earth; it is a massive recycling system that's been churning over the same molecules since the Earth was formed. It's actually extraordinarily rare for an organism to develop that produces any long-lasting waste, as eventually Earth gets around to burning it up, grinding it up, tilling it under, ripping its molecules apart, and otherwise reusing it. The biosphere has always taken care of our bio waste. No we are experiencing what happens when you dump non recyclables into the recyling!
  - mekkkkkk 6y ago
    So it's not at all "the way of things on earth" then.
    - titzer 6y ago
      Oh, Earth will eventually recycle all of the molecules in the plastic, at least that which is exposed to erosive forces and not sedimented down to be preserved for millenia. The question is how much disruption, poisoning, death, and destruction it will cause as it contaminates everything, is sucked up in the massive recycling systems, and filtered through the food web over and over. We're going to find out the hard way and there won't be much we can do but watch. My guess is that it is at least partially responsible for the insect apocalypse and severely disrupts the microbiota of most ecosystems. It's also probably pretty bad for human health.
- FooBarBizBazz 6y ago
  I have read that a concern with bodily purity is a sign of low openness, and of authoritarian tendencies. Likewise with a tendency to find things "grotesque". It is all connected to a tendency to police the boundary between the self and the other.
ballenf 6y ago
The article does NOT mention heavy metals anywhere. Maybe implied. But instead it focuses on fear mongering like this gem: > “It is like having a cyborg baby: no longer composed only of human cells, but a mixture of biological and inorganic entities,” said Antonio Ragusa, director of obstetrics and gynaecology at the San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome, and who led the study. “The mothers were shocked.”
- EinwegPlastik 6y ago
  It doesn't. Thats what i added as additional information. From the text, 'toxins' are mentioned: "Further studies need to be performed to assess if the presence of microplastics may trigger immune responses or may lead to the release of toxic contaminants, resulting in harm." Not sure if this is missleading if i add information i'm aware of.
  - hajimemash 6y ago
    It's misleading because you're stating something false. You adamantly say the article says one thing when it ain't there. You: 'Its described in the article itself that microplastic attracts/collects toxins (heavy metals etc.)' Article: 'Further studies need to be performed to assess if the presence of microplastics may trigger immune responses or may lead to the release of toxic contaminants' Maybe and does is one difference. The absence of the mention of heavy metals which you state is from the article itself is another difference. I like the other stuff you said though.

saberience 6y ago

It's not that I don't care. However, I object to the huge amount of media/news stories driven by fear which leads to a generalized anxiety and depression about basically everything. If you read the modern news and take it at all seriously, you will live in a constant fear of doing just about anything. Drinking water? You're drinking scary microplastics. Walking outside? Don't do that, the air pollution is going to give you cancer or other nasty lung diseases. Stay in and have a meal? Don't eat bread/carbs/sugar/red meat/tuna/legumes/anything processed, that will give you heart disease or cancer too, inflammation. etc etc etc. Basically everything you can put into your body or do with your time has been associated with death or otherwise making you sick and what can the average person do about it? Basically fucking nothing. The average person can do nothing about microplastics except be afraid of them. Also the average person cannot afford to have a healthy diet or avoid plastic and in addition, their diets are usually so bad that even if microplastics have any deleterious health effect, it's liable to be several orders of magnitude less bad than the effects of junk food or alcohol. All the above goes to say why I think microplastics are something for scientists to worry about now because I believe the psychological impacts of all this fear are far worse than the thing itself. Anxiety and depression, undoubtedly made worse by all the fear driven media kill more people every year or otherwise reduce quality of life far more than I believe microplastics do.

EinwegPlastik 6y ago
I would object to it if i had the feeling we are taking it serious. We don't. What the avg person could do? They could actually buy less plastic products; Can write to politician, to companies, as employees talk to collegues and bosses, as a boss make the right decision. Everyone of us can do so much. And honestly, if this is the first time its scientific proven that there is microplastic already in a fetus, thats news worthy to me. I will also not get into your strawman argument; Other toxins, air pollution etc. is bad but doesn't make the microplastic situation any better or worse. Based on what you write 'its not that i dont' care' why do you take so much effort to take the issue down? Its not that the issue will suddenly have theonly priority of our society just because you also think its wrong.
rohan1024 6y ago
> huge amount of media/news stories driven by fear which leads to a generalized anxiety and depression about basically everything. Are we so fragile that we can't handle the general anxiety and fear that stems from such articles. I think we humans have been having these emotions since the beginning of time. They ensured our survival in past and today we have far better techniques to manage these emotions. The thing is fear and anxiety have been turned into hallmark of negative emotions by our society. As far as I understand those emotions are necessary for our survival. They are the pointers that something isn't working in individuals life and change is needed. Fear and anxiety throws a man into action. I think we should stop putting good/bad labels to human emotions. If they exist, they are serving some purpose. Embracing and facing them will improve the life of individuals and society as whole.
ardy42 6y ago
> It's not that I don't care. However, I object to the huge amount of media/news stories driven by fear which leads to a generalized anxiety and depression about basically everything. So, in summary, you think ignorance is bliss. > The average person can do nothing about microplastics except be afraid of them. Also the average person cannot afford to have a healthy diet or avoid plastic and in addition, their diets are usually so bad that even if microplastics have any deleterious health effect, it's liable to be several orders of magnitude less bad than the effects of junk food or alcohol. That's not actually true, or is only true if you inappropriately restrict yourself to uncoordinated individual action, and deny the possibility of collective action. Many people live in democracies, and a pretty well trodden path to change in them is: 1. popular awareness of an issue, 2. pressure put on political bodies to do something, 3. legislation or other political action addressing the issue. This is not a clockwork process, and often nothing comes of it, but your idealized state of ignorance would prevent it completely.

MisterTea 6y ago

> For me personally speaking, this feels very unnatural (and i don't like this word at all normally) and its sickening to know that we produce a product and it is now floating in our bloodstreams and it doesn't need to be there. At this point we're so inundated in plastic trash that it has now entered our bodies. Just let that sink in. There's so much garbage its overflowing into your body. Grotesque.

titzer 6y ago
It is grotesque. But it is the way of things on Earth; it is a massive recycling system that's been churning over the same molecules since the Earth was formed. It's actually extraordinarily rare for an organism to develop that produces any long-lasting waste, as eventually Earth gets around to burning it up, grinding it up, tilling it under, ripping its molecules apart, and otherwise reusing it. The biosphere has always taken care of our bio waste. No we are experiencing what happens when you dump non recyclables into the recyling!
- mekkkkkk 6y ago
  So it's not at all "the way of things on earth" then.
  - titzer 6y ago
    Oh, Earth will eventually recycle all of the molecules in the plastic, at least that which is exposed to erosive forces and not sedimented down to be preserved for millenia. The question is how much disruption, poisoning, death, and destruction it will cause as it contaminates everything, is sucked up in the massive recycling systems, and filtered through the food web over and over. We're going to find out the hard way and there won't be much we can do but watch. My guess is that it is at least partially responsible for the insect apocalypse and severely disrupts the microbiota of most ecosystems. It's also probably pretty bad for human health.
FooBarBizBazz 6y ago
I have read that a concern with bodily purity is a sign of low openness, and of authoritarian tendencies. Likewise with a tendency to find things "grotesque". It is all connected to a tendency to police the boundary between the self and the other.

ballenf 6y ago

The article does NOT mention heavy metals anywhere. Maybe implied. But instead it focuses on fear mongering like this gem: > “It is like having a cyborg baby: no longer composed only of human cells, but a mixture of biological and inorganic entities,” said Antonio Ragusa, director of obstetrics and gynaecology at the San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome, and who led the study. “The mothers were shocked.”

EinwegPlastik 6y ago
It doesn't. Thats what i added as additional information. From the text, 'toxins' are mentioned: "Further studies need to be performed to assess if the presence of microplastics may trigger immune responses or may lead to the release of toxic contaminants, resulting in harm." Not sure if this is missleading if i add information i'm aware of.
- hajimemash 6y ago
  It's misleading because you're stating something false. You adamantly say the article says one thing when it ain't there. You: 'Its described in the article itself that microplastic attracts/collects toxins (heavy metals etc.)' Article: 'Further studies need to be performed to assess if the presence of microplastics may trigger immune responses or may lead to the release of toxic contaminants' Maybe and does is one difference. The absence of the mention of heavy metals which you state is from the article itself is another difference. I like the other stuff you said though.