America Could End Homelessness in One Year by Doing This

Published on 12 December, 2013  in The Mind Unleashed

By: Kevin E. Lake, Free Patriot, Guest

If America really cared about solving the problem of homelessness among it’s citizenry, here’s an idea that would work. Oh- and that opening line references the fact that as far back as 2011 empty houses in America outnumbered homeless families by five times, according to Amnesty International. 

Anyway, let’s say the problem with homeless people in America was a result of not enough housing. Then, this idea would work.

Did you know that you can make houses out of plastic bottles? By filling them with sand, and molding them together with mud or cement, the walls created are actually bullet proof, fire proof, and will maintain an comfortable indoor temperature of 64 degrees in the summer time.

And it’s not like there is any shortage on used plastic bottles out there. Here are some statistics from treehugger.com:

“The United States uses 129.6 Million plastic bottles per day which is 47.3 Billion plastic bottles per year. About 80% of those plastic bottles end up in a landfill!”

To build a two bedroom, 1200 square foot home, it takes about 14,000 bottles.

The United States throws away enough plastic bottles to build 9257 of these 2 bedroom houses per day! That’s just over 3.35 million homes, the same number of homeless people in America.

Many people in third world countries have taken up building homes out of plastic bottles, from Africa to Asia. Perhaps the trend will catch on in America and all of those bottles will stop ending up in the landfills. Wouldn’t they be better off housing the homeless? Kinda like all those empty houses scattered all over the country?

Follow The Free Patriot contributor and Iraq War veteran Kevin E Lake on Facebook.

Source: freepatriot.org

Rain Brings Plastic Pollution To Santa Monica Beach

Posted Nov. 30, 2013, in the Santa Monica Mirror by Parimal M. Rohit / Staff Writer

Photo by Hannah Persinko

With much more rain last week, the “second flush” of the storm drains at Santa Monica Beach turned out to be much worse than the “first flush” back on Oct. 9.

They say it never rains in Southern California. Of course, it actually does rain here. When it does, the rain might be good news to the skies above Santa Monica. Yet the wet weather was bad news to Santa Monica Beach last weekend.

When overcast skies brought rain to Santa Monica and Southern California Nov. 21, a Santa Monica High School teacher/Santa Monica College instructor took his video camera and documented the single-use plastic pollution emanating from the Pico Kenter Storm Drain and onto Santa Monica Beach.

Benjamin Kay, the Samohi teacher and SMC instructor who documented the plastic pollution at the beach after the “second flush,” posted the video on YouTube after the Nov. 21 rain.

The video was taken just above Pico Kenter Storm Drain, located at the end of Pico Boulevard and near Shutters on the Beach.

In a phone conversation with Kay, he told The Mirror it was the worst “second flush” pollution he had ever seen.

A “flush” is when, after a rainy day or rainstorm, water rapidly moves toward the ocean from various communities and then underground through the storm drains and toward, for example, the ocean.Along the way, the fastmoving water collects any litter not deposited into a trashcan or similar contraption.

When the flush finally reaches its end point, whatever litter picked up along the way accumulates and creates quite the mess.

In the case of Pico Kenter, litter picked up and accumulated throughout the entire network connected to the Santa Monica-based storm drain would empty either on the beach or make its way a few more feet into the ocean.

Kay told The Mirror flushes sometimes create a pathway in the sand, essentially connecting Pico Kenter to the ocean.

Last week, Kay said the water within the newly created “pathway” was “like a raging river” after the Nov. 21 rain.

Inside the pathway, the fast-moving water included “tons of plastics,” Kay said. “As far as you could walk, there was plastic everywhere. Sometimes we get a massive amount of water and the trash can be washed away, other times it sets in pools.”

According to Kay, the “first flush”of the fall rains arrived in October. At that time, the flush only resulted in a “pool,” with less trash and water than the recent “second flush” when the “raging river” occurred.

Kay, who teaches biology at Samohi and SMC, did point out the City of Santa Monica is doing its part in attempting to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in the environment.
He commended City Hall for instituting a single-use plastic bag ban, for example.

Still, he added the underground storm drains are connected to other parts of Los Angeles, where Styrofoam and single-use plastic are still used.

When such items are not properly disposed or stray from trash or recycle bins, they often end up in storm drains and move toward places like Pico Kenter during rainstorms.

Kay’s YouTube video was more than four minutes in length. In the video, Kay, who is also a marine biology instructor at SMC, documented the amount of single-use plastic that made its way to the ocean and, as he stated, “that’s not going to get cleaned up.”

The video was highlighted Nov. 22 by the National Resource Defense Council’s (NRDC) staff blog.
In the blog covering Kay’s video, author Leila Monroe cited an NRDC report stating litter costs local governments across California about $428 million annually.

“Most of California is a very dry state, so when it finally starts to rain the pollution built up over the dry months – whether plastic bags, bottles, or toxins – washes from inland streets to storm drains and rivers, then out to the ocean,” Monroe wrote. “The first rain of the season in early November was fairly light, so the massive flow of waste didn’t make its way to the ocean until this week’s major downpour.”

 

To watch Kay’s Youtube video, visit youtube.com/watch?v=ifgka3iG5OQ.

Ocean Beach Officials Back Ban On Plastic Bags

Aired on KPBS 12/3/13  By Erik Anderson

 

The Ocean Beach Town Council is joining the chorus of calls for a ban on single-use plastic bags.

SAN DIEGO — Ocean Beach officials have determined nearly 500 million single-use bags are handed out in San Diego every year and they think it's time to change course.

The Ocean Beach Town Council passed a resolution supporting a citywide ordinance that severely limits single-use plastic bags.

The community organization said a ban is inevitable in the city of San Diego and likely will be approved next year.

Town Council President Gretchen Kinney Newsom said Ocean Beach is a progressive community and residents worry about the environmental impact of the single-use bags because the bags foul water and land. Kinney Newsom hardly considers the resolution controversial.

"I'd say this is trending to become reality in all of California," Kinney Newsom said. "Over 78 California municipalities have enacted similar ordinances banning or restricting the use of plastic bags, and it's a very common action of a shopper at a grocery store to carry their own plastic bags."

The San Diego City Council is considering eliminating the use of plastic bags at big box retailers and grocery stores. City officials are expected to vote on an ordinance early next year.

California lawmakers are also considering a statewide measure limiting the use of the bags. A vote on that bill could also come after the first of the year.

Mounting microplastic pollution harms 'earthworms of the sea' – report

published Dec. 2, 2013 in The Guardian by Jessica Aldred

Ingestion of microplastics by lugworms could have impact on ocean ecosystems due to their importance to food chain

Lugworms are widely found across the whole of the north Atlantic, living in burrows in the sand of beaches. Photograph: Alamy

Tiny bits of plastic rubbish ingested by marine worms is significantly harming their health and will have wider impact on ocean ecosystems, scientists have found.

Microplastic particles, measuring less than 5mm in size, have been accumulating in the oceans since the 1960s and are now the most abundant form of solid-waste pollution on Earth.

Two UK-based studies published in the journal Current Biology looked at whether these near-invisible, microscopic plastics that sink into mud and sand in high concentrations are causing harm to species at the base of the food chain that ingest this sediment during feeding, and play a key ecological role as a source of food for other animals.

Using the lugworm as an indicator species, the first study, from the University of Exeter, found that worms feeding in highly contaminated ocean sediment ate less and had lower energy levels. The second study, from Plymouth University, has established for the first time that ingesting microplastics can transfer pollutants and additives to worms, reducing health and biodiversity.

Ingestion of microplastics by species at the base of the food web is a cause for concern as little has been known about its effects until now. Many other organisms that have a similar feeding behaviour, such as starfish, sea cucumbers and fiddler crabs, may be similarly affected.

Lugworms are common invertebrates found widely found across the whole of the north Atlantic, living in burrows in the sand of beaches. They eat sand particles, digesting any micro-organisms and nutrients and passing the sand as waste through their tail, leaving a distinctive trail or "cast" on the beach. The worm can make up about 30% of the biomass of an average sandy beach, making it an important source of food for wading birds and flatfish.

The "earthworms of the sea", lugworms provide another important ecosystem service by turning over large volumes of sand, replenishing organic material and oxygenating the upper layers to keep the sediment healthy for other animals and microorganisms to thrive in.

Microplastics can be made from polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, PVC or polystyrene. They are too small to be captured through existing wastewater treatment process, and wash straight into the ocean.
Pre-production plastic pellets, or 'nurdles' on the windward side of South Sokos Island, Hong Kong. Photograph: Alex Hofford/EPA 

 They fall into three categories: the raw material called "nurdles" that are melted down to make larger plastic items or used as exfoliating beads in cosmetic products, or larger pieces of plastic that have degraded and broken down into smaller particles over time. Microplastics are also found as fibres and have been traced back to synthetic textiles like polyester that are used to make clothes, which can release up to 1,900 tiny fibres per garment every time they are washed.

Microplastics carry a complex mix of chemicals which have the potential to harm the worms, the research showed. Many plastics contain chemical additives, such as plasticisers, dyes, and antimicrobials, which can leach out into sediments and seawater. Microplastics also concentrate water-borne chemicals on their surfaces, such as pesticides and detergents.

There has been much campaigning around the impact of larger marine plastic pollution, with widely documented instances of fish and bird entanglement, ingestion and suffocation. But particles of this microscopic size are available to a much broader range of marine organisms, who ingest and retain these tiny plastic particles and act as prey for larger species.

The first study, by Stephanie Wright from the University of Exeter, put worms into laboratory tanks of varying levels of plastics contamination for up to one month, measuring their growth, physiology, survival and ability to gain weight. She found that lugworms feeding in sediment that was highly contaminated with microplastics put on less weight than worms in clean sediment and had less energy to invest in key processes such as growth and reproduction. These effects could cause populations to decline with knock-on effects for predators, the paper found.

Reduced feeding also means the sediment is being reworked less, the research found. The condition of the sediment could fall, leading to a decline in the communities which live in it. Wright said: "If worms in contaminated environments were to reduce feeding levels by an amount comparable to that seen in the lab, it would mean significantly less turnover of sediment. In an area the size of the Wadden Sea, for instance, sediment turnover could drop by more than 130,000 litres each year."

"We believe our study has highlighted the need to reduce the amount of plastic waste and therefore microplastics which enter our seas," says Prof Tamara Galloway of the University of Exeter. "Plastics are enormously beneficial materials. However, if marine plastic pollution continues to increase, impacts such as those demonstrated in our laboratory studies could occur in the natural environment. It is therefore important that we prevent the accumulation of plastic and microplastic debris in marine habitats through better waste-handling practices and smarter choices in the materials we use."

A separate report, from Dr Mark Anthony Browne on work performed at Plymouth University, showed microplastics can transfer harmful chemicals to lugworms, including hydrocarbons, antimicrobials and flame retardants. Due to its role as a prey species, lugworms could pass these chemicals up the food chain to top predators such as fish.

"These chemicals are persistent, meaning they could accumulate in the tissue of organisms and take a long time to break down," said Prof Richard Thompson of the school of marine science and engineering at Plymouth University, who was the project lead for the work. "Our laboratory studies provide the first clear evidence that microplastics could cause harm and show that this could result from both the physical presence of ingested plastic and chemical transfer. Our next steps will be to establish the full implications of these findings for organisms in natural habitats."

Plastic Debris in Oceans has Spawned a 'Plastisphere' of Organisms

Published in Environment 360, November 13th, 2013

The plastic debris that litters the world's oceans has developed its own unique and diverse microbial ecosystem, which scientists have dubbed the "plastisphere." READ MORE 

Members of the rich microbial ecosystem living on plastic debris are shown in these scanning electron microscope images: a) a diatom and bacterial filaments; b) filamentous cyanobacteria; c) a predatory ciliate in foreground covered with symbiotic bacteria (inset), along with diatoms, bacteria, and filamentous cells; d) microbial cells that have pitted the surface of a piece of plastic debris. All scale bars are 10 micrometers. (Image credit: Zettler, et al., Environmental Science & Technology)

The plastic debris that litters the world's oceans has developed its own unique and diverse microbial ecosystem, researchers report. The microscopic community, which scientists dubbed the "plastisphere," includes more than 1,000 species of algae, bacteria, microscopic plants, symbiotic microbes, and possibly even pathogens, the researchers say in Environmental Science & Technology. 

Some of the plastisphere microbes, many of which had never before been documented, contain genes that could help break down hydrocarbons, indicating the microbes may play a role in degrading the debris, the research shows. Plastic trash is the most abundant type of debris in the ocean, inflicting harm on fish, birds, and marine mammals that are entangled by it or ingest it. 

Until now, researchers hadn't looked at microbes living on the debris, which make up a sort of artificial "microbial reef," one of the scientists said. The organisms on the plastic debris were different from the microbial communities living on driftwood, feathers, and other natural items floating in the ocean, and also different from the assemblage of microbes living in open water, the researchers report.

Another Texas Town Bans Plastic Bags

Surfrider Foundation

Published on ecowatch.com By Bill Hickman - July, 31, 2013

Surfrider chapters typically focus their plastic reduction efforts in coastal cities and towns since that’s where our members are who see the impacts of plastic pollution firsthand and want to take action. You have to start somewhere and as a grassroots organization, that somewhere is our backyard.



But it’s important to remember that everywhere on land is part of a watershed that flows to a river, creek or stream that then outlets in a lake, bay or ocean. So it’s great to see inland cities making efforts to reduce single-use plastic bags and the latest good news comes from the west Texas city of Kermit where a reusable bag ordinance has been enacted.

In addition to marine impacts, plastic bags can be a big nuisance for farmers. I recently spoke with some Surfrider activists in Texas who mentioned that cotton farmers can take a financial hit from plastic bag litter because it can taint their crop as it is processed by mills:

Bags find their way into farmers’ fields and then into modules of cotton. The bags go through the gin and textile mills and have even ended up in finished apparel. One thing that I would really like to emphasize this fall is to watch for those Wal-Mart bags in your fields. It’s almost humorous, but it’s dead serious. One mill in the east quit buying cotton in Georgia and the Carolinas because of it.

Kermit recently passed a type of reusable bag ordinance that eliminates plastic checkout bags at most retailers and puts a small fee on paper bags as an incentive for people to remember their reusable bag or go without a bag for small purchases. The City of Kermit website does a great job to explain the ordinance and why it’s needed:

Q: What kind of plastic bag is banned?
Plastic carryout bags include any bag made of plastic (from any source), which is provided to the customer at the point of sale.

Q: What kind of plastic bag is NOT banned?
Produce bags and product bags are bags without handles used exclusively to carry produce, meats or other food items to the point of sale or to prevent such food items from coming into direct contact with other purchased items.

Q: Why has the City of Kermit banned single-use plastic carryout bags?
The intent of the single-use carryout bag ordinance is to significantly reduce the environmental impacts related to single-use plastic and paper carry out bags and promote a major shift towards the use of reusable bags.

Q: How are single-use plastic carryout bags harmful to the environment?
They are consumed in extremely high volumes. They are produced from non-renewable resources. They are designed to be disposable (rather than reusable). They are difficult to recycle—less than 5 percent of the 19 billion plastic bags used annually in Texas are actually recycled. They are a significant and visible component of litter and do not biodegrade. They remain in the environment as marine, storm drain and beach pollution for decades. A significant hazard to ranch animals and birds, which often mistake plastic bags as food.

Q: Is there any exception to this ban?
The ordinance does NOT prohibit the distribution of plastic product bags such as those distributed within a grocery store for bagging produce or meat.

Q: What stores are required to charge 10 cents for each recycled paper bag?
All grocery stores, convenience stores, minimarts, liquor stores, drug stores and pharmacies are prohibited from providing free distribution of single-use paper and plastic carryout bags. If these stores decide to make paper carryout bags available for their customers, they are required to sell recycled paper carryout bags made from 100 percent total recycled content with 40 percent post-consumer recycled content for not less than 10 cents per bag.

Q: Why is there a $0.10 fee on recycled paper carryout bags?
The fee of $0.10 on recycled paper carryout bags encourages the use of reusable bags. This cost pass-through reimburses retailers for the costs of providing recycled paper carry out bags to their customers. All of the revenue from the cost pass-through remains with the store.

Q: How do I avoid paying 10 cents for each recycled paper bag?
It’s easy—remember to bring your own reusable bags to the store. Some stores will even offer you a credit or gift for bringing your own bag.

Visit EcoWatch’s BIODIVERSITY page for more related news on this topic.

EPA Launches Initiative to Reduce Plastic Pollution in Oceans

Published For Immediate Release, November 6, 2013 on biologicaldiversity.org
Contact: Emily Jeffers, (415) 632-5309, ejeffers@biologicaldiversity.org

EPA Launches Initiative to Reduce Plastic Pollution in Oceans

New Steps Follow Petition to Protect People, Wildlife From Toxic Trash

 

SAN FRANCISCO–- After a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Protection Agency says it will take steps to cut plastic pollution in oceans, improve monitoring and conduct a scientific review of the human-health effects of eating fish that have ingested plastics and other pollution.

Photo courtesy NOAA. Photos are available for media use.

The agency also says it will develop national data on the economic costs of ocean litter to local, state and national governments, and will do more to prevent people and businesses from littering in oceans.

“We’re happy to see the EPA taking plastics pollution seriously,” said Emily Jeffers, an oceans attorney at the Center. “Every year bits of discarded plastic kill thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, seals and other marine mammals. Some choke on plastic, and others are poisoned by it. Still more find themselves swimming through vast patches of toxic litter. It’s an international tragedy that needs to be addressed.”

Billions of pounds of plastic are found in giant, swirling convergences around the world, including the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, twice the size of Texas. The root of the problem is plastic and other garbage that’s dumped into the oceans. In the Los Angeles area alone, 20 tons of plastic fragments — like grocery bags, straws and soda bottles — are carried into the Pacific Ocean every day.

Last year the Center petitioned the EPA to use its authority under the Clean Water Act to develop water-quality standards for plastic pollution and publish information to guide states in monitoring and preventing harm to waters from plastic pollution. Although the EPA declined to develop plastic-specific water-quality criteria, the agency agreed to expand other efforts to protect people and wildlife from litter in oceans and other aquatic environments.

According to the statement granting the Center’s petition, the EPA said it will develop and provide information on reducing plastic pollution at its source — guidance covering, as the Center requested, plastic-pollution threats, monitoring and measurement, best management practices to reduce that pollution, and direction for states and cities to create regulations to prevent plastic pollution.

“Obviously we think the EPA needs to move as aggressively as possible to stem the spread of ocean plastic pollution, including strict limits on discharge,” said Jeffers. “But the agency is moving in the right direction with these new steps. We hope we can begin getting a handle on this crisis before it’s completely out of control.”
Plastics pollution has a direct and deadly effect on wildlife. Curious marine mammals get entangled and drown in plastic garbage, seabirds feed the bright, colorful pieces to their young instead of food, and sea turtles eat plastic bags mistaking them for jellyfish.

Thousands of seabirds and sea turtles, seals and other marine mammals are killed each year after ingesting plastic or becoming entangled in it; many more suffer after ingesting plastic particles that contain toxic substances, which can cause death, injury or reproductive failure.

Endangered wildlife like Hawaiian monk seals and Pacific loggerhead sea turtles are among the nearly 300 species affected by plastic litter.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 625,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.