Since the 1950s, plastic has been a staple due to its durability, but an unseen byproduct of this material is microplastics. These microscopic particles can be found everywhere, from Antarctica to Mt. Everest to breast milk. “The volume of plastics has increased every year,” says Steve Barnett, co-founder and CEO of Soar Optics, an Elk […]
Comstock’s Startup of the Month: Soar Optics Read More »
SOAR presentation to the January 2024 meeting of the Microplastics Subcommittee of the California Water Quality Monitoring Council.
SOAR presentation to California Group Read More »
(LA Times July 14, 2023) Sparkling Lake Tahoe may appear pristine, but its blue surface waters contain microplastic concentrations higher than those observed in ocean gyres — systems of ocean currents notorious for accumulating plastic waste — according to new research. The study, published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature, revealed that of the 38
Lake Tahoe has higher concentration of microplastics than ocean trash heap Read More »
How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies Review from 5Gyres 11/18/2022 In A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies, science journalist Matt Simon reveals the shocking extent of microplastic pollution and its far-reaching consequences for human and animal health. Speaking with scientists on the frontlines of the microplastic
A Poison Like No Other Read More »
World Economic Forum 3/8/2023 With every new piece of scientific research, the scale and impact of plastic pollution become ever more glaring. We are eating, drinking and breathing microplastics; they are raining down on us and are even found in breast milk and fed to our children. The impact plastic pollution has had on planetary
Why microplastics should keep us up at night and what we can do about them Read More »
(Web MD 10/28/22) You eat a credit card’s worth of plastic in a week. That may bother you. But does it harm you? The answer depends on who you ask. Awareness of microplastics in general is certainly increasing; the most recent news is the detection of microplastics in human breast milk. Other research has suggested that
Microplastics and Health Risks: What Do We Really Know? Read More »
The Emerging Contaminant that Lies Ahead For food and agriculture, the problem of plastics in food and the environment pose special challenges. Research into what effects these food contaminants might have on human health is just getting underway. This research will lead to cases filed by the plaintiffs’ bar, as well as increasing the attention
Beyond PFAS to Plastics Read More »
Plastic is in everything, from the clothes we wear to the water we drink. John Oliver explains how plastics are harming the planet, why recycling isn’t the solution you think it is, and why fixing the problem will be up to not just consumers, but corporations and policymakers. Click here to watch the video
Plastic: Last Week with John Oliver Read More »
(Scientific American) Atmospheric currents are transporting plastic pollution into remote, pristine areas, showing the global nature of the problem. Amid the rugged peaks of the Vicdessos region of the French Pyrenees, the only visible signs of a human presence are a smattering of villages and the odd hiker or skier; it is considered a pristine
Microplastics Are Blowing in the Wind Read More »
Scientists Are Hunting It Down (Scientific American) Trillions of tiny particles generated by our plastic-reliant society are polluting environments worldwide During a research cruise to the Sargasso Sea in fall 1971 marine biologist Ed Carpenter first noticed peculiar, white specks floating amidst the mats of brown sargassum seaweed. After some investigating he discovered they were
Earth Has a Hidden Plastic Problem Read More »
