On March 21, 2023, the Annals of Global Health, published a Special Collection, titled the “Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health” https://www.annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/10.5334/aogh.4056/ and https://www.minderoo.org/no-plastic-waste/minderoo-monaco-commission/ which addresses not only the benefits of plastics but “… that plastics are also responsible for significant harms to human health, the economy, and the earth’s environment … The extent […]
Category: News
“the Lifecycle Environmental and Climate Effects of Plastic” to be Examined March 30 during Senate Hearing
According to a March 24, 2023 Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) news release https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2023/3/petrochemicals-to-waste-examining-the-lifecycle-environmental-and-climate-effects-of-plastic the EPW Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight, will hold a hearing at 10 am on March 30 in 406 Dirksen, titled “Petrochemicals to Waste: Examining the Lifecycle Environmental and Climate Effects of Plastic” – […]
Polystyrene Nanoplastics Adversely Affect Chick Embryos
According to a March 2023 Environment International article https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.107865 and at https://weather.com/en-IN/india/health/news/2023-03-20-nanoplastics-disrupt-heart-nervous-system-growth-in-chick-embryo by researchers with Netherlands Leiden University and others “… We have investigated how the size and dose of polystyrene nanoparticles affects malformations in chicken embryos … We find that nanoplastics can cross the embryonic gut wall. When injected into the vitelline vein, nanoplastics […]
American Beverage Association (ABA) “Every Bottle Back” Advertisement – Some Claims Remain Unsupported
According to a March 16, 2023 Better Business Bureau (BBB) National Advertising Review Board (NARB) news release https://bbbprograms.org/media-center/dd/narb-aba some of the claims in the American Beverage Association (ABA) “Every Bottle Back” advertising campaign https://www.innovationnaturally.org/every-bottle-back remain unsupported – “… The advertising at issue … had been challenged by the National Advertising Division (NAD) … Following NAD’s […]
ESG – A Resolution that would have prevented the Labor Department from taking ESG Factors into account in Federal retirement planning has been vetoed
On March 20, 2023, the President vetoed H.J. Res. 30 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/20/message-to-the-house-of-representatives-presidents-veto-of-h-j-res-30/ a resolution that would disapprove the December 1, 2022 Department of Labor’s final rule titled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/01/2022-25783/prudence-and-loyalty-in-selecting-plan-investments-and-exercising-shareholder-rights that allows DoL to take ESG Factors into account in Federal retirement planning – The President stated “…There is […]
Nanoplastics Not Toxic to the Zooplankton, Daphnia Magna
According to the summary of an October 21, 2022 Swedish Environmental Protection Agency report https://www.naturvardsverket.se/om-oss/publikationer/7000/978-91-620-7054-0/ “… we have mechanically broken down 8 different plastics and rubbers from 14 different consumer products and isolated the nanoplastics … The nanosized fractions are not toxic to D. magna in the used concentrations. In contrary, for at least two […]
Plastic Waste and Associated Additives “can adversely impact environmental and biological health” of Marine Organisms and Food Webs
According to the abstract of a March 15, 2023 Environmental Pollution article https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749123001586 by researchers with Flinders University Australia “… Contamination from plastic debris is omnipresent in marine environments, posing a substantial risk to marine organisms, food webs and the ecosystem … This review investigated the intrusion of plastics into the marine food web and […]
Microplastics – Seawater Fish Ingest More than Freshwater Fish
According to the abstract of a March 10, 2023 Nature Scientific Reports article https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30339-y by researchers with Japan University of Tokyo “… little is known about differences of microplastic uptake by fish in freshwater (FW) and those in seawater (SW) … [Our] results imply that SW fish ingest more MPs than FW fish when exposed […]
“Recyclable” Advertising Claims – FTC Seeks Public Comments by June 13, 2023 and Sets May 23 Workshop
On March 1, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/federal-register-notices/public-workshop-examining-guides-use-environmental-marketing-claims a Washington, DC May 23 public workshop, which will be available for public viewing, and request for public comment by June 13 “… to examine ‘recyclable’ advertising claims. The workshop is a component of the Commission’s recently announced regulatory review of the ‘Guides for […]
Microplastics – World Economic Forum: “microplastics are still lagging in terms of regulatory and corporate action”
“This is why microplastics should keep us up at night and what we can do about them” is the title of a March 8, 2023 World Economic Forum report https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/03/microplastics-how-we-can-tackle-them/ which advises that “… Macroplastic pollution has been catching global attention and mobilization but microplastics are still lagging in terms of regulatory and corporate action […]