Top notch greenhouse gas results post-pandemic

Did you know, greenhouse gas emissions (i.e. CO₂) dropped 33% during the pandemic? According to new research, levels of carbon dioxide (a problem child greenhouse gas) fell drastically in both Los Angeles and Washington D.C./ Baltimore. This may not come as a surprise to you, as people weren’t able to travel and were quarantined at home. But this new, cutting edge research used a new kind of method for drawing their conclusion; scientists measured actual levels of carbon dioxide in the air as opposed to tallying up sources of carbon dioxide. Cities often underestimate emissions when tallying up sources, such as power plants or number of vehicle miles traveled. Consequently, this research set up new ways for cities to accurately determine greenhouse gas emissions. You might be thinking “measuring carbon dioxide in the air can’t be the best way to determine emissions, because 0.04% of our atmosphere on earth is already carbon dioxide!”. However, scientists can parse out where and when carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere with this new method, and more accurately determine sources and levels of greenhouse gases. According to James Whetstone, leader of National Institute of Standards and Technology’s greenhouse gas measurements group and a co-author of the study, “Accurate measurements are key to any strategy for managing greenhouse gas emissions.” Check out this summary of the cutting edge research to learn more details about the work being done to determine the success, or failure, of our progress towards climate change mitigation.

Microplastics being crazy cats and kittens

Hotspots for bacteria breeding ground

Microplastics in consumer products, from clothing, to glitter, to teabags, pose a risk to human health as they provide a welcoming breeding ground for problem bacteria. In New Jersey, household microplastics enter wastewater treatment plants and serve as a carrier for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other illness-causing agents. Wastewater treatment plants do not possess the infrastructure to remove microplastics and plastics interact with sludge, the solids leftover from wastewater treatment.

Recent research found strains of bacteria were 30 times more antibiotic resistant while in contact with a special kind of microplastic, called biofilm, that forms inside sludge units wastewater treatment plants. Check out the article for more details on “How our microplastic waste becomes ‘hubs’ for pathogens, antibiotic-resistant bacteria”.

Free falling microplastics

What’s more, microplastics in the air– from tires, agricultural fields and legacy plastics (i.e. microplastics broken down from larger plastics from wind and waves)– are deposited on land in hotspots that occur in U.S., Europe, Middle East, India and Eastern Asia. Microplastics that are wind-borne can stay suspended in the air for 6.5 days! That’s enough time for these tiny plastics to travel a continent. To learn more about invisible, air-borne microplastics and the importance of understanding this global cycle, check out this summary and the research abstract, if you’re feeling like flexing your inner scientist.