WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2024 - EARTH DAY CONTINUED

 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2024 - EARTH WEEK CONTINUED

Earth Day is next Monday, April 22, 2024, and the theme is Planet versus Plastics.

First, take a quick look at how plastics are made. (Note: The information used is from websites.  I’m not an expert plastic person.

Plastics are made from raw materials like natural gas, oil, or plants, which are refined into ethane and propane. Ethane and propane are then treated with heat in a process called “cracking,” which turns them into ethylene and propylene. These materials are combined to create different polymers.

Plant-based plastics differ from conventional plastics because they are made from plant-derived molecules, while traditional plastics are made from petroleum-derived molecules. Plant-based plastics are also made from renewable materials, while petroleum-based plastics are made from a finite source of crude oil. 

Plant-based plastics look, feel, and perform like plastic but break down in weeks or months under certain conditions. Some bioplastics are compostable but require an industrial composting facility to process these materials.

Plant-based plastics can release microplastics, but they release nine times less than conventional plastics. According to a study from the University of California San Diego, plant-based polymers can completely biodegrade at the microplastic level in less than seven months. 

"Although our findings show that the PLA released fewer microplastics, which means using plant-based plastics instead of oil-based ones might seem like a good idea to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean, we need to be careful as microplastics are still clearly being released and that remains a concern."

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Karen adds - hmmm - while better, plant plastics are not perfect.  

A related face is that currently (April 2024) approximately 100 million barrels of oil is pumped DAILY.  (No wonder we are looking at electric vehicles - with electricity generated by renewal sources like solar and wind.).

Another small concept is that microplastics are more prevalent in our homes.  Get outside - breathe the air, walk.  

And our future:

“According to Earth Day, babies and infants have more than ten times more microplastics in their feces than adults. In addition, microplastics can be in breast milk. Some evidence suggests that microplastics can negatively affect fetal and neonatal body weight and compromise fetal organ development. The danger of microplastics to babies may be less with the particles themselves and more with the chemicals used to create them. Some of these chemicals are known endocrine disrupters, which can cause long-term effects on human health.

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Over the centuries, we have become smarter with technology.  150 years ago, there wasn’t an automobile around.  Airplanes, televisions, computers, bottled water - didn’t exist.  But, not all was well.  We used coal to heat our homes, cook our meals, and put pollution in the air and water.  We used water out of streams - where the factories and cows were upstream from where we got our water.  

So, once a year to think about how we can be better stewards of this planet is good - but it really needs to be every day.

Maybe “back to nature” isn’t quite the way to go.  I’m not ready for a cabin in the woods - without indoor plumbing and running water.  But, being aware of nature and trying to be environmentally focused will work!!!

LOVE DOES WIN

LOVING THE EARTH IS GOOD

LOVE TRANSFORMS HUMANS

LOVE CAN TRANSFORM OUR ENVIRONMENT

GOD IS LOVE

Karen Anne White, ©, April 17, 2024