Microplastics, Microplastics Everywhere & Not a Drop to Drink

Will there be a single plastic-free drop to drink — anywhere — in 10 years?

Photo by Sören Funk on Unsplash.

Climate change gets a great deal of attention from the global media in 2023, though not nearly enough according to some world authorities, environmentalists, and activist groups.

Though preserving rainforests, saving the whales, preventing acid rain, closing the hole in the ozone layer, and nuclear de-proliferation have gone out of fashion, climate change isn’t the only concern shared by environmentalists, naturalists, and would-be sensible stewards of Mother Earth everywhere.

Single-use plastics — and their tiny, ubiquitous cousins, microplastics — have created a mountain of environmental concerns and contamination. The current generation of humanity will be the first to grapple with the fallout from these forgotten cast-offs of the modern, post-industrialized world.

Most of the plastic we’ve used once and thrown away likely still exists — somewhere. In a landfill, or in a waterway in Malaysia — though many countries like China and Malaysia stopped accepting U.S. recyclables several years ago.

Microplastics are proving particularly challenging for the environment. They are turning up everywhere, including the unlikeliest of places. From the top of Mount Everest…