The invisible toll of pollution

IVF success drops nearly 40% with air pollution exposure: study
by Katie Dangerfield (Global News)

See also: Moving towards climate accountability

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It’s ‘almost impossible’ to eliminate toxic PFAS from your diet. Here’s what you can do by Tom Perkins (The Guardian)

Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show: ‘There’s nowhere left untouched’ by Douglas Main (The Guardian)

Hope plastic’s inert in the body! 😨🤞

Individuals can’t grit their way out of systemic harms. There is no escaping the environment we have made for ourselves.

See also: Extending my understanding of self-care

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Surprising New Research Links Infant Mortality to Crashing Bat Populations by Catrin Einhorn (New York Times)

When weird correlations *do* equal causation (indirectly) 👀

Related: Peel those apples: washing produce doesn’t remove pesticides, study finds by Carey Gillam (The Guardian)

 

As a society, are these harms we are truly willing to trade off for cheaper products and food, plus the existence of billionaires? Are they just hidden enough that they can be brushed under the rug? Are we beset by too many crises at once to deal with? We can barely hold the line on having environmental protections, let alone add new ones. Or is the inertia too strong, status quo too dug in, and we’ve been told we’re powerless for long enough we believe it?

Personally, I am pro-regulation and would prefer to err on the side of caution where our collective health is concerned.

 

See also:

When life is an externality

The injustice embedded in our infrastructure