Health, Microbes, and More
A widely used cleaning chemical (even in dry cleaning!) has been linked to Parkinson's disease by an international team of researchers. In a piece published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, they built a strong case that the chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) is one of the causes of Parkinson's disease. This is based on the existing ...continue reading "Common Cleaning Chemical Linked to Parkinson’s Disease"
Finally, finally... the FAA just approved an unleaded fuel for small aircraft. Yup, for all these years that other vehicles had switched to unleaded gas, small aircraft had no unleaded alternative. (Jet aircraft used for commercial transport do not use fuel containing lead.) Unleaded gas was introduced in the United States in the 1970s, and ...continue reading "Small Airplanes Will Finally Use Unleaded Fuel"
It turns out that many companies are really, really underreporting the amount of planet warming gases (greenhouse gas emissions) that they release into the air. These pollutants (carbon dioxide and other gases) are causing the world to have increasingly higher temperatures. Uh-oh... This underreporting has been exposed by Climate Trace - a project to measure ...continue reading "Factories Underreport Their Greenhouse Gas Emissions"
One distressing fact about the world around us is that bird numbers are plummeting. The U.S. State of the Birds 2022 report has come out discussing the top 70 bird species that are at the "tipping point" - at risk of becoming endangered. Look at the list to see if any of the bird species ...continue reading "Bird Species In Decline Have Reached A Tipping Point"
For a while now it has been known that some dental floss, such as Oral-B Glide, contain harmful chemical compounds called PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), similar to Teflon. These chemicals have all sorts of negative health effects, and are referred to as "forever chemicals" because they stick around. A recent investigation by ehn.org (Environmental ...continue reading "Some Dental Floss Brands Contain Harmful PFAS Chemicals"
More news about microplastics (tiny plastic particles) and where they are showing up in humans. Yesterday's post was about microplastics showing up in human blood, and today's post is about a study finding microplastics deep in the lungs of living people. Yes, not only do we ingest microplastics in our food and water (especially from ...continue reading "Microplastics Found Deep In the Lungs of People"
Tiny particles of plastic, called microplastics, have now been detected in human blood. Yikes! We all know that plastic pollution is a serious problem in the environment, but recent research has been finding it in our food, in the air, in water, in rain, our organs (including our lungs and brain), human placentas, and now ...continue reading "Microplastics Are Found In Human Blood"
Something to ponder: Are tiny plastic particles (microplastics) that enter the human body traveling to the brain and causing harm? An article by the science writer Erica Cirino examines that question by looking at existing research and comes to the disturbing conclusion of: Yes, they are. Yes, that plastic particles are inhaled or ingested (in ...continue reading "Microplastics Are Entering Our Bodies"
It's finally over. One hundred years after leaded gasoline was first introduced, it is finally no longer used in automobiles and road vehicles anywhere in the world. Algeria was the last country to use leaded gas (it had stockpiles of it and wanted to use it up), and in July 2021 they made the switch ...continue reading "Leaded Gas For Cars Is No Longer Being Used Anywhere In the World"
Another recent study found an association with pesticide exposure (both herbicides and insecticides) and leukemia risk in infants and children. The study found that exposure prenatally or during childhood to pesticides increases the risk for leukemia. (Keep in mind that cancer in childhood is rare, but it does occur.) Researchers at the School of Medicine ...continue reading "Pesticide Exposure and Increased Leukemia Risk In Children"