Scientists find plastic in Colorado raindrops
Plastic is officially everywhere.
U.S. Geological Survey researcher Gregory Wetherbee was studying nitrogen pollution in Colorado, and found plastic in 90 percent of the water samples he collected across urban and mountainous sites, identifying small fibers, beads, and shards.
The conclusion of his study? "It is raining plastic."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Rainwater collected in urban areas had the most plastic, but the discovery of fibers at Loch Vale in Rocky Mountain National Park leads scientists in the study, published by the USGS, to warn that plastic in rainwater is "not just an urban condition."
Ninety-one percent of plastic is not recycled, reports National Geographic, and it takes more than 400 years to degrade, meaning most plastic that was ever created still exists.
Plastic fibers break off clothes when you wash them and are byproducts of many manufacturing processes, Sherri Mason, a microplastics researcher and sustainability coordinator at Penn State Behrend told The Guardian. These miniscule pieces of plastic are present in the atmosphere, then "incorporated into water droplets when it rains," effectively spreading plastic across Earth's surfaces.
The potential effects of plastic in rainwater on nature, animals, and human health are unknown, according to the USGS study. Even if humans halted all plastic usage and production, it's unknown how long it would take for nature to return to its plastic-free state. "I would guess centuries," says Stefan Krause, professor of Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry at the University of Birmingham. Read more at The Guardian.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Taylor Watson is audience engagement editor for TheWeek.com and a former editorial assistant. She graduated from Syracuse University, with a major in magazine journalism and minors in food studies and nutrition. Taylor has previously written for Runner's World, Vice, and more.
-
Blind people will listen to next week's total eclipse
Speed Read While they can't see the event, they can hear it with a device that translates the sky's brightness into music
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
An amphibian that produces milk?
speed read Caecilians, worm-like amphibians that live underground, produce a milk-like substance for their hatchlings
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jupiter's Europa has less oxygen than hoped
speed read Scientists say this makes it less likely that Jupiter's moon harbors life
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why February 29 is a leap day
Speed Read It all started with Julius Caesar
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US spacecraft nearing first private lunar landing
Speed Read If touchdown is successful, it will be the first U.S. mission to the moon since 1972
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Scientists create 'meaty' rice for eco-friendly protein
Speed Read Korean scientists have invented a new hybrid food, consisting of beef muscle and fat cells grown inside grains of rice
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New images reveal Neptune and Uranus in different colours than originally thought
Speed Read Voyager 2 images from the 1980s led to 'modern misconception'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published