Latest news with #Illinois-Indiana
Asharq Al-Awsat
29-03-2025
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Plastics Are Seeping into Farm Fields, Food and Eventually Human Bodies. Can They Be Stopped?
In Uganda's Mbale district, famous for its production of arabica coffee, a plague of plastic bags locally known as buveera is creeping beyond the city. It's a problem that has long littered the landscape in Kampala, the capital, where buveera are woven into the fabric of daily life. They show up in layers of excavated dirt roads and clog waterways. But now, they can be found in remote areas of farmland, too. Some of the debris includes the thick plastic bags used for planting coffee seeds in nurseries. Some farmers are complaining, said Wilson Watira, head of a cultural board for the coffee-growing Bamasaba people. 'They are concerned – those farmers who know the effects of buveera on the land,' he said. Around the world, plastics find their way into farm fields. Climate change makes agricultural plastic, already a necessity for many crops, even more unavoidable for some farmers. Meanwhile, research continues to show that itty-bitty microplastics alter ecosystems and end up in human bodies. Scientists, farmers and consumers all worry about how that's affecting human health, and many seek solutions. But industry experts say it's difficult to know where plastic ends up or get rid of it completely, even with the best intentions of reuse and recycling programs. According to a 2021 report on plastics in agriculture by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, soils are one of the main receptors of agricultural plastics. Some studies have estimated that soils are more polluted by microplastics than the oceans. 'These things are being released at such a huge, huge scale that it's going to require major engineering solutions,' said Sarah Zack, an Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Great Lakes Contaminant Specialist who communicates about microplastics to the public. Micro-particles of plastic that come from items like clothes, medications and beauty products sometimes appear in fertilizer made from the solid byproducts of wastewater treatment — called biosolids — which can also be smelly and toxic to nearby residents depending on the treatment process used. Some seeds are coated in plastic polymers designed to strategically disintegrate at the right time of the season, used in containers to hold pesticides or stretched over fields to lock in moisture. But the agriculture industry itself only accounts for a little over three percent of all plastics used globally. About 40% of all plastics are used in packaging, including single-use plastic food and beverage containers. Microplastics, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines as being smaller than five millimeters long, are their largest at about the size of a pencil eraser. Some are much smaller. Studies have already shown that microplastics can be taken up by plants on land or plankton in the ocean and subsequently eaten by animals or humans. Scientists are still studying the long-term effects of the plastic that's been found in human organs, but early findings suggest possible links to a host of health conditions including heart disease and some cancers. Despite 'significant research gaps,' the evidence related to the land-based food chain 'is certainly raising alarm,' said Lev Neretin, environment lead at the FAO, which is currently working on another technical report looking deeper into the problem of microplastic pollution in soils and crops. A study out this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that microplastics pollution can even impact plants' ability to photosynthesize, the process by which they turn light from the sun into energy. That doesn't 'justify excessive concern' but does 'underscore food security risks that necessitate scientific attention,' wrote Fei Dang, one of the study's authors. The use of plastics has quadrupled over the past 30 years. Plastic is ubiquitous. And most of the world's plastic goes to landfills, pollutes the environment or is burned. Less than 10% of plastics are recycled. At the same time, some farmers are becoming more reliant on plastics to shelter crops from the effects of extreme weather. They're using tarps, hoop houses and other technology to try to control conditions for their crops. And they're depending more on chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers to buffer against unreliable weather and more pervasive pest issues. 'Through global warming, we have less and less arable land to make crops on. But we need more crops. So therefore the demand on agricultural chemicals is increasing,' said Ole Rosgaard, president and CEO of Greif, a company that makes packaging used for industrial agriculture products like pesticides and other chemicals. Extreme weather, fueled by climate change, also contributes to the breakdown and transport of agricultural plastics. Beating sun can wear on materials over time. And more frequent and intense rainfall events in some areas could drive more plastic particles running into fields and eventually waterways, said Maryam Salehi, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Missouri. This past winter, leaders from around the world gathered in South Korea to produce the first legally binding global treaty on plastics pollution. They didn't reach an agreement, but the negotiations are scheduled to resume in August. Neretin said the FAO produced a provisional, voluntary code of conduct on sustainable management of plastics in agriculture. But without a formal treaty in place, most countries don't have a strong incentive to follow it. 'The mood is certainly not cheery, that's for sure,' he said, adding global cooperation 'takes time, but the problem does not disappear.' Without political will, much of the onus falls on companies. Rosgaard, of Greif, said that his company has worked to make their products recyclable, and that farmers have incentives to return them because they can get paid in exchange. But he added it's sometimes hard to prevent people from just burning the plastic or letting it end up in fields or waterways. 'We just don't know where they end up all the time,' he said. Some want to stop the flow of plastic and microplastic waste into ecosystems. Boluwatife Olubusoye, a PhD candidate at the University of Mississippi, is trying to see whether biochar, remains of organic matter and plant waste burned under controlled conditions, can filter out microplastics that run from farm fields into waterways. His early experiments have shown promise. He said he was motivated by the feeling that there was 'never any timely solution in terms of plastic waste" ending up in fields in the first place, especially in developing countries. Even for farmers who care about plastics in soils, it can be challenging for them to do anything about it. In Uganda, owners of nursery beds cannot afford proper seedling trays, so they resort to cheaply made plastic bags used to germinate seeds, said Jacob Ogola, an independent agronomist there. Farmers hardest hit by climate change are least able to reduce the presence of cheap plastic waste in soils. That frustrates Innocent Piloya, an agroecology entrepreneur who grows coffee in rural Uganda with her company Ribbo Coffee. "It's like little farmers fighting plastic manufacturers,' she said.
Chicago Tribune
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Daywatch: County explores Planned Parenthood partnership in Englewood
Good morning, Chicago. With Englewood's Planned Parenthood clinic set to shut its doors late next month, Cook County officials hope to figure out how to save the South Side center, which serves thousands of patients seeking reproductive care. Citing a 'financial shortfall,' Planned Parenthood of Illinois announced in January that it would close four clinics across the state. Besides Englewood, clinics in Ottawa, Bloomington and Decatur are on the closure list. Illinois, already a haven for reproductive care, saw an influx of out-of-state patients seeking abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The increase in patients, 'coupled with low reimbursement rates from insurers and rising costs of providing care,' helped contribute to the organization's shortfall, Planned Parenthood said in a previous statement. Read the full story from the Tribune's A.D. Quig. Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day. President Donald Trump's moves to end foreign aid agency hit close to home in Illinois A federal judge ordered the administration late Thursday to temporarily lift its freeze and allow funding from U.S. aid and development programs to flow for the time being. But uncertainty remains for organizations whose missions rely on government dollars to carry out projects that benefit populations in developing nations while also supporting jobs and the broader economy at home. Mixed verdict in Madigan case reflects a new, harder reality for federal prosecutors While former House Speaker Michael Madigan stands as a convicted felon, the verdict was far from the slam dunk often expected — however unfairly — when it comes to major federal political corruption cases in Chicago. Frigid temperatures expected this week with subzero wind chills The Chicago area will see bitterly cold weather this week with single-digit temperatures and subzero wind chills, according to the National Weather Service. Monday and Tuesday may see high temperatures in the low teens, with a potential for a low between zero and minus 10 Monday night. 'Whole different level.' The Illinois-Indiana political divide widens amid Trump 2.0, from immigration to DEI to LGBTQ rights. The Trump administration's surprise federal funding freeze met widespread condemnation in Illinois, as state leaders scrambled to fight the spending pause that spurred chaos and confusion prior to being temporarily blocked by a federal judge minutes before it was set to go into effect Jan. 28. Yet just over the border in Indiana, the top state official praised the austerity measure, which was designed to root out progressive agendas, promote efficiency and end 'wokeness' through federal spending nationwide. Indiana would like to redraw border with Illinois Federal plan to reduce government office space could be a blow to Chicago, where selling properties wouldn't be easy The future of the federal government's footprint in Chicago is uncertain as the Trump administration embarks on a plan to shed up to half of all government office space across the nation, while also shrinking the federal workforce. The federal government owns 19 properties in Chicago, including the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building and the 28-story Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building. It also leases more than 2 million square feet of space throughout the entire metro area. Cameo giving all Chicago employees $10,000 raises to return to the office Celebrity video messaging website Cameo is offering its Chicago-area employees a $10,000 raise to return from their scattered spare bedrooms and coffee shops to the company's Fulton Market office full-time beginning today. Those who opt out, however, may need to find a new job. Activists anxiously await air monitors, hope Chicago isn't backsliding on pollution promises Chicago is building what climate scientists say could be the country's best system for monitoring tailpipe pollution from diesel trucks. The city expects the monitors to go online early next year. But by then, Chicago won't have enough money to keep paying members of a community advisory panel to help operate the monitors and publish the results. Column: It won't be easy, but the Chicago White Sox hope to earn back their fans' trust day by day Earning back the trust of Chicago White Sox fans won't be easy after last year's record-setting 121-loss season, writes Paul Sullivan. The evidence is everywhere. SoxFest was downsized to a South Side theater, and the Sox still couldn't fill that small venue. Fans booed when director of player personnel Gene Watson told them the front office would one day be recognized as 'the best' in baseball, knowing it was way too soon to boast. White Sox pitching prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith making most of 1st big-league camp Bobby Jenks, former White Sox All-Star closer, undergoing treatment for stomach cancer Chess Records, Muddy Waters and the birth of urban blues music In 1964, the Rolling Stones took a break from their first American tour to record several songs at Chess Records at 2120 S. Michigan Ave. It was where Chicago's Black blues performers made the records that were revered by the British group, which took its name from a Muddy Waters song, 'Rollin' Stone.' 'Saturday Night Live' celebrates 50 years with comedy, music and show's many, many famous friends Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter duetted on Simon's 'Homeward Bound' to open the show, five-decade 'Saturday Night Live' luminary Steve Martin delivered the monologue, and Paul McCartney gave an epic closing to a 50th anniversary special celebrating the sketch institution that was overflowing with famous former cast members, superstar hosts and legendary guests. Chicago Black Restaurant Week marks 10 years of celebrating Black-owned businesses Chicago Black Restaurant Week, which runs Feb. 9 to 23, brings attention to Black-owned restaurants in the city. Founded by Lauran Smith in 2015, CBRW is celebrating its 10th season and comes shortly after the more well-known Chicago Restaurant Week. For diners, CBRW offers more flexibility and various price points; for restaurateurs, it's another opportunity to tell their story, to refine their customer bases and menus and to connect with other Black-owned businesses.
