skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

U.S. gender wage gap grows for first time in a decade; Trump has embraced NC's Mark Robinson, calling him 'Martin Luther King on steroids'; Volunteers sought as early voting kicks off in MN; Women's political contributions in congressional races fall short of men's.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Plastic Pollution Threatens Ecosystem in Great Lakes

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 16, 2018   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Advocates are hoping 2018 is a year of better water quality in the Great Lakes and oceans.

Carolyn Box, the Science Program Director with 5 Gyres, says by the year 2050, there will be more plastic in the water than fish, with 95 percent of it coming from land. That trash ends up in storm drains and rivers then flows into the Great Lakes and oceans.

She says plastic is trapped within currents, taking at least 10 years to cycle back out, if it doesn't get eaten by marine life or sink to the bottom.

"It's breaking down from wave action and sunlight, so it's breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces, and it's also attracting other contaminants to the plastic itself, which is making those pieces of plastic more toxic," she explains.

Box says more people are talking about plastic waste, and companies are taking baby steps to eliminate it. There's a petition drive on Change.org asking Royal Carribean International to reduce the use of disposable plastic utensils. The group The Last Plastic Straw says on average, each person in the U.S. uses about 38,000 straws between the ages of 5 and 65.

Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law the Microbead Free Waters Act of 2015, which amended the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to ban personal-care products containing plastic microbeads. The Alliance for the Great Lakes says that's not enough. Microbeads only make up 16 percent of the plastic pollution. Box says microfibers also are under a lot of scrutiny because they can cause a lot of damage to the ecosystem.

"Synthetic clothing is now shedding plastic into our waterways, so it's going down our sinks and down our drains from our washing machines and heading to the wastewater treatment plants and making its way out into the waterways," she adds.

Box says lawmakers and businesses need to step up, but individuals can help too by buying as little plastic as possible, particularly water bottles. A study by the Rochester Institute of Technology found nearly 10,000 metric tons - or 22 million pounds - of plastic debris enter the Great Lake every year.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …


Medicaid has covered more than $28.6 million in claims for dental services since expansion began, according to state data. (DC Studio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

A 2023 report by Oceana and Turtle Island Restoration Network found that more than half of the animals caught in gillnets are thrown overboard as waste. (Oceana and Blancpain)

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

Environment

play sound

Rising demands for clean energy efficiency are producing a wealth of work opportunities in Illinois. These in-demand jobs are also promoting a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021