10 Must-See Photos From National Geographic's Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
The entry deadline has passed and it's time for the judging to begin. Who will be the 2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year?
Submitted photos are placed in one of three categories: people, cities and nature. Each category will name its top three winners. The first place prize is a Sony a6300 camera; second place prize is The Art of Travel Photography on DVD; and the third place prize is the book Destinations of a Lifetime.
An overall winner will also be selected. The grand prize for this year's contest includes a 7-day polar bear safari trip for two to Churchill Wild-Seal River Heritage Lodge and the title of 2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year. Each winner will also receive a subscription to National Geographic Traveler magazine, according to the contest's website.
Winners will be announced early July. Below are some entries that sparked EcoWatch's interest. Visit the contest's website to see all the entries.
1. Eternity by Johns Tsai
Photo credit: Johns Tsai on Nov. 10, 2014 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
2. Preparing for tourism in Arctic Ocean by Esther Horvath
Photo credit: Esther Horvath on July 15, 2015 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
3. Seeking Within by Raul Espinoza
Photo credit: Raul Espinoza on Jan. 20, 2012 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
4. Incense Maker by Art Chen
Photo credit: Art Chen on Sept. 18, 2015 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
5. Fishermen at sunset by mirjameversphoto@gmail.com Evers
Photo credit: mirjameversphoto@gmail.com Evers on Oct. 30, 2014 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
Photo credit: JP Miles on March 28, 2016 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
7. Cape Naturalist by Peter Evans
Photo credit: Peter Evans on June 4, 2014 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
8. Save water, save fuel by Neelesh EK
Photo credit: Neelesh EK on April 8, 2015 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
9. Texas Cowboys by Zhuo Zhang
Photo credit: Zhuo Zhang on Feb. 4, 2014 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
10. Synchronized swimming by Jamin Martinelli
Photo credit: Jamin Martinelli on Oct. 7, 2015 / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest
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Purdue researcher Joseph Peoples uses an infrared camera to compare the cooling performance of white paint samples on a rooftop. Purdue University photo / Jared Pike
By Kayla Wiles
What if paint could cool off a building enough to not need air conditioning?
<p>Purdue University engineers have created white paint that can keep surfaces up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than their ambient surroundings – almost like a refrigerator does, but without consuming energy.</p><p>According to the researchers, the paint would replace the need for air conditioning by absorbing nearly no solar energy and sending heat away from the building. Without the building heating up, air conditioning wouldn't have to kick on.</p><p>"It's very counterintuitive for a surface in direct sunlight to be cooler than the temperature your local weather station reports for that area, but we've shown this to be possible," said <a href="https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/People/ptProfile?resource_id=29343" target="_blank">Xiulin Ruan</a>, a Purdue professor of <a href="https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical engineering</a>.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="835862ffe8b025c2f0ae633c999ecb08"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/caFzYvYAUo4?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The paint would not only send heat away from a surface, but also away from Earth into deep space where heat travels indefinitely at the speed of light. This way, heat doesn't get trapped within the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. A video about this project is available on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caFzYvYAUo4&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">YouTube</a>.</p><p>"We're not moving heat from the surface to the atmosphere. We're just dumping it all out into the universe, which is an infinite heat sink," said Xiangyu Li, a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who worked on this project as a Ph.D. student in Ruan's lab.</p><p>Earth's surface would actually get cooler with this technology if the paint were applied to a variety of surfaces including roads, rooftops and cars all over the world, the researchers said.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDU4OTQ2My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMDU3NDQwMn0.xNNLbN-QJDjH_tm0v2mGlBVP3w2F0UrMGiUhBtkpdQY/img.png?width=980" id="b3aaa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3179d1bb2c45edb948b3ca392a64bb31" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
An infrared camera image shows that white radiative cooling paint developed by Purdue University researchers (left, purple) can stay cooler in direct sunlight compared with commercial white paint. Purdue University image / Joseph Peoples
<p>In a paper published Wednesday (Oct. 21) in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2020.100221" target="_blank">Cell Reports Physical Science</a>, the researchers show that compared with commercial white paint, the paint that they developed can maintain a lower temperature under direct sunlight and reflect more ultraviolet rays.</p><p>Their proof is infrared camera images taken of the two paints in rooftop experiments.</p><p>"An infrared camera gives you a temperature reading just like a thermometer would to judge if someone has a fever. These readings confirmed that our paint has a lower temperature than both its surroundings and the commercial counterpart," Ruan said.</p><p>Commercial "heat rejecting paints" currently on the market reflect only 80%-90% of sunlight and cannot achieve temperatures below their surroundings. The white paint that Purdue researchers created reflects 95.5% sunlight and efficiently radiates infrared heat. </p><p>Developing this paint formulation wasn't easy. The six-year study builds on attempts going back to the 1970s to develop radiative cooling paint as a feasible alternative to traditional air conditioners.</p><p>The researchers considered over 100 different material combinations, narrowed them down to 10 and tested about 50 different formulations for each material. They landed on a formulation made of calcium carbonate, an earth-abundant compound commonly found in rocks and seashells.</p><p>This compound, used as the paint's filler, allowed the formulation to behave essentially the same as commercial white paint but with greatly enhanced cooling properties. These calcium carbonate fillers absorb almost no ultraviolet rays due to a so-called large "band gap," a result of their atomic structure. They also have a high concentration of particles that are different sizes, allowing the paint to scatter a wider range of wavelengths.</p>
<p>According to the researchers' cost estimates, this paint would be both cheaper to produce than its commercial alternative and could save about a dollar per day that would have been spent on air conditioning for a one-story house of approximately 1,076 square feet.</p><p>"Your air conditioning kicks on mainly due to sunlight heating up the roof and walls and making the inside of your house feel warmer. This paint is basically creating free air conditioning by reflecting that sunlight and offsetting those heat gains from inside your house," said Joseph Peoples, a Purdue Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering and a co-author of the work.</p><p>Cutting down on air conditioning also means using less energy produced by coal, which could lead to reduced carbon dioxide emissions, Peoples said. The researchers have further studies underway to evaluate these benefits.</p><p>The researchers are working on developing other paint colors that could have cooling benefits. The team filed an international <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2020072818&tab=PCTBIBLIO" target="_blank">patent application</a> on this paint formulation through the <a href="https://www.prf.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Purdue Research Foundation</a> <a href="https://www.prf.org/otc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Office of Technology Commercialization</a>. For further discussion on this intellectual property, please contact D.H.R. Sarma at <a href="mailto:dhrsarma@prf.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dhrsarma@prf.org</a> and reference track code 2020-ABDE-68815.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2020/Q4/this-white-paint-could-reduce-the-need-for-air-conditioning-by-keeping-surfaces-cooler-than-surroundings.html" target="_blank">Purdue University</a>.</em><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
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Tropical Storm Zeta could be the fifth storm to hit Louisiana this season. National Hurricane Center
The extremely active 2020 hurricane season has another storm in store for the beleaguered Gulf Coast.
<p>Tropical Storm Zeta, the earliest 27th named storm of any hurricane season, is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane Monday, <a href="https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/zeta-likely-to-become-hurricane-before-hitting-yucatan-later-gulf-coast/2311873/" target="_blank">NBC6 South Florida reported</a>. It will likely remain at or near hurricane strength when it nears the U.S. Gulf Coast Wednesday, <a href="https://twitter.com/NHC_Atlantic/status/1320653142271291394" target="_blank">according to a 5 a.m. EDT update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC)</a>.</p><p>"It is unfortunate we face another tropical threat this late in a very active season," Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said <a href="https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/zeta-likely-to-become-hurricane-before-hitting-yucatan-later-gulf-coast/2311873/" target="_blank">in a statement Sunday</a>. "We must roll up our sleeves, like we always do, and prepare for a potential impact to Louisiana."</p>
<div id="f8b4d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="07a8f5b962dcee1052414695d13a244d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1320413961926356992" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">This storm is expected to make landfall somewhere on the Gulf Coast by midweek, meaning we have a few days to prepa… https://t.co/DNiY0VpHCI</div> — John Bel Edwards (@John Bel Edwards)<a href="https://twitter.com/LouisianaGov/statuses/1320413961926356992">1603646195.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Louisiana has been especially hard hit during the 2020 hurricane season, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/26/us/tropical-storm-zeta-louisiana/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. Late August's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/hurricane-laura-louisiana-gulf-of-mexico-2647106305.html" target="_self">Hurricane Laura</a> was the strongest storm to strike Louisiana since 1856. It killed at least 25 people in Louisiana and Texas and forced thousands to evacuate.</p><p>More than 8,000 of these evacuees were still living in shelters when <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/hurricane-delta-laura-louisiana-2648175286.html" target="_self">Hurricane Delta</a> arrived six weeks later, flooding roads, downing power lines and killing at least four people in total.</p><p>If Zeta does make landfall in Louisiana Wednesday, it will be the fifth to do so this year and it would break the record for the most named storms to hit Louisiana in one season.</p><p>The storm could also make landfall along the Florida Panhandle, which was drenched in September by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/hurricane-sally-flooding-2647677628.html" target="_self">Hurricane Sally</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/us/tropical-storm-zeta.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p>
<p>"There's no question there's a lot of hurricane fatigue, but we're still going to have to prepare," NHC meteorologist and spokesman Dennis Feltgen told The New York Times.</p><p>Before it menaces the U.S., though, Zeta is forecast to move over or near the Yucatan Peninsula Monday. The government of Mexico's Quintana Roo state is preparing 71 shelters for residents and tourists, NBC6 South Florida reported. The government is still providing aid to people in the Yucatan who were impacted by Hurricane Delta and Tropical Storm Gamma.</p>
<div id="d1466" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fec06e280e1a846e21135e60632542d1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1320653142271291394" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Here the 5 AM EDT Monday Key Messages for Tropical Storm #Zeta. Zeta is expected to become a hurricane later this… https://t.co/HJtPl4d9SJ</div> — National Hurricane Center (@National Hurricane Center)<a href="https://twitter.com/NHC_Atlantic/statuses/1320653142271291394">1603703220.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>2020 is in the running to dethrone 2005 as the most active hurricane season on record. The 2005 season had 28 named storms — 27 that were named as they occurred and one that was discovered after the fact and became an "unnamed named storm," Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach told NBC6 South Florida.</p>
<div id="a9ccc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eaa5510d6ed3a84110e165e17bf58275"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1320251178244952066" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Zeta has formed in the NW Caribbean - the 27th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic #hurricane season to date and earl… https://t.co/KImnD2m5dJ</div> — Philip Klotzbach (@Philip Klotzbach)<a href="https://twitter.com/philklotzbach/statuses/1320251178244952066">1603607384.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> is making hurricanes <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-hurricanes-wetter-2619851055.html" target="_self">wetter</a> and more <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tropical-storm-intensity-climate-crisis-2646033123.html" target="_self">intense</a>. Scientists <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-crisis-extreme-weather-2647096018.html" target="_self">are not sure</a> how it will impact the total number of storm systems, but the most destructive ones are likely to become more frequent. Hurricanes and tropical storms are fueled in part by warm water, and almost all of the tropical Atlantic Basin has seen higher temperatures than normal this season.</p>
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Plain Naturals offers a wide variety of CBD products including oils, creams and gummies.
Plain Naturals is making waves in the CBD space with a new product line for retail customers looking for high potency CBD products at industry-low prices.
<p><a href="https://plainnaturals.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">PlainNaturals.com</a> manufactures 95% of their products in the USA and has been offering wholesale CBD oil, CBD isolate and other hemp products to retailers since 2019 and has recently launched their own high-potency, low price product line via their website <a href="https://plainnaturals.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">PlainNaturals.com</a>. </p><p>Plain Naturals has CBD oil tinctures in 3 strengths: 1000mg, 1500mg and 5000mg, all in a 30ml or 1 fluid ounce bottle. <a href="https://plainnaturals.com/shop/ols/categories/cbd-oils" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">5000mg tinctures</a> typically sell for $225 or more per bottle. Plain Naturals offers a 5000mg tincture for just $99.99. The rest of their prices are also very low by industry standard. </p><p>They attribute this to their "no frills" approach to packaging and distributing their product. Rather than spend what many sellers do on packaging (up to $20 per bottle), Plain Naturals packages their product for less than $5 per bottle. The same philosophy is applied to their other products like <a href="https://plainnaturals.com/shop/ols/categories/cbd--hemp-creams--lotions" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">CBD Creams</a> and CBD Gummies.</p>
Is More CBD Really Better?
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDU2ODQyNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzYxMDMzN30.6B08i5QYW_Iq5bUf3qtm8oK8o6FKsRUZ74gdakgJ_TY/img.jpg?width=980" id="0ef5b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bac86abf3ce246742b18b0dc4052f4dd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Plain Naturals offers a 5000mg CBD oil tincture in 30ml bottle for $99.99.
<p>Consumers have gotten used to paying high prices for low amounts of cannabidiol. Plain Naturals is beginning to change that. There are myriad <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5569602/%23:~:text=Chronic%2520use%2520and%2520high%2520doses,be%2520well%2520tolerated%2520by%2520humans.&text=Nonetheless%252C%2520some%2520side%2520effects%2520have,vitro%2520or%2520in%2520animal%2520studies." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">studies</a> showing that low doses of CBD (less than 50mg per day) are ineffective for many users. And many clinical <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5569602/%23:~:text=Chronic%2520use%2520and%2520high%2520doses,be%2520well%2520tolerated%2520by%2520humans.&text=Nonetheless%252C%2520some%2520side%2520effects%2520have,vitro%2520or%2520in%2520animal%2520studies." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">studies</a> have shown effective dosages of 100 - 800mg per day to be effective for many conditions ranging from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5569602/%23:~:text=Chronic%2520use%2520and%2520high%2520doses,be%2520well%2520tolerated%2520by%2520humans.&text=Nonetheless%252C%2520some%2520side%2520effects%2520have,vitro%2520or%2520in%2520animal%2520studies." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">anxiety and depression to Parkinson's disease and cancer</a>. And several <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5569602/%23:~:text=Chronic%2520use%2520and%2520high%2520doses,be%2520well%2520tolerated%2520by%2520humans.&text=Nonetheless%252C%2520some%2520side%2520effects%2520have,vitro%2520or%2520in%2520animal%2520studies." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">studies</a> published by the National Institutes of Health have shown up to 1500mg per day to be consistently "well-tolerated" by adults. </p><p>Now it is always recommended to begin with a lower dosage and increase until an effective dose has been reached. But the advantage of starting with a higher potency CBD oil is that it is much easier to use less to start with and increase over time than to buy very low dose CBD oil and ultimately end up buying more and more stronger products. To start at 50mg per dose of a 5000mg oil, you would simply use ⅓ dropper or about 10-12 drops.</p>The Truth About CBD Product Potency
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDU2ODMyNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDc2NTg1N30.OAm3iOTO_pKZLXi7KdJ7n0DGOFMdOmIYuG4ArGooFC4/img.jpg?width=980" id="d657c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ee016a81b29caa699b9185b64ce345d6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />CBD gummies from Plain Naturals are 100% vegan and sugar free.
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The Trump administration has weakened fuel-efficiency requirements for the nation's cars and trucks. Drew Angerer / Getty Images
As the days tick down to next month's presidential election, debate rages over the U.S. government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic with critics of President Donald Trump calling for his ouster due to his failure to protect the American public.
<p>And yet as mass media runs daily tallies of COVID-related cases and deaths, a more sinister threat to public health looms as the Trump administration rolls back regulations that govern the quality of our air, land and water. And though these actions are garnering little public outcry now, they pose grave danger to our children and their children for decades to come. It's a simple truth — a poisoned environment means poisoned people.</p><p>In recent months the Trump administration <a href="https://news.osu.edu/a-watershed-moment-for-us-water-quality/" target="_blank">has stripped protections</a> from wetlands in ways that allow for the dumping of pesticides and other pollutants directly into millions of miles of streams and other waterways; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/climate/epa-mercury-coal.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">relaxed rules on power plants</a> designed to curb air emissions containing brain-damaging heavy metals <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mercury-and-health" target="_blank">such as mercury</a>; altered automobile fuel efficiency standards to be <a href="https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/regulations-greenhouse-gas-emissions-passenger-cars-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"less stringent,"</a> allowed more emissions of climate-damaging carbon dioxide; and rolled back requirements governing how coal-fired power plants <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-finalizes-power-plant-effluent-limitation-guidelines-save-money-and-reduce" target="_blank">dispose of toxic wastewater</a>, a move <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/climate/trump-coal-plants.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">praised by coal industry executives</a> but expected to add increased levels of lead, arsenic and other harmful contaminants to the environment. </p><p>If there was any doubt about how little Trump cares for the health of our children, that was made clear last month when the Environmental Protection Agency <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-takes-next-step-review-process-insecticide-chlorpyrifos-making-draft-risk-assessments" target="_blank">(EPA) announced</a> it would continue to allow <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/08/california-pesticide-ban-chlorpyrifos-agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the neurotoxic chemical chlorpyrifos</a> to be used to grow food despite years of <a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/prenatal-exposure-insecticide-chlorpyrifos-linked-alterations-brain-structure" target="_blank">scientific research</a> showing the pesticide damages babies' brain development. Residues of chlorpyrifos are commonly found in food consumed by young children. A <a href="https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/2018PDPAnnualSummary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">USDA report</a> released last year documented chlorpyrifos residues in raisins, peaches, mangoes and asparagus, among other foods. </p>
<p>Amid the rush to ease regulations before the end of Trump's term, the EPA is also working to appoint new <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/521044-shuffle-of-epas-science-advisors-elevates-those-with-industry-tries" target="_blank">industry-friendly individuals</a> to its scientific advisory board. In an October 14 announcement, the agency said the new vice chair of the board would be Dr. Barbara Beck, who works for an industry <a href="https://gradientcorp.com/" target="_blank">consulting company</a> with a history of defending controversial chemicals and other substances. Beck has <a href="https://gradientcorp.com/alerts/pdf/Testimony_040711.pdf" target="_blank">advocated</a> for loosened restrictions on lead despite the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/health-effects.htm" target="_blank">says lead exposure</a> damages a child's brain and nervous system and can cause learning and behavior problems.</p><p>"Trump is burning down the house," Tim Whitehouse, a former senior attorney with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), told me. Whitehouse now heads an organization representing thousands of government employees called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), and says government scientists are being ignored as the administration pushes through favors for influential industries.</p><p>"I think it's beyond a difference in policy. It is a feeling that the people who are put in charge are robbing the house," Whitehouse said. "We're in a period of massive biodiversity loss and increasing chemical and toxic burdens on individuals, and the EPA is not responding to the crises at hand." </p>
<p>PEER has joined with other groups in suing the EPA over its elimination of clean water protections, charging in a <a href="https://www.peer.org/epa-political-appointees-violate-science-integrity-rules/" target="_blank">formal complaint</a> that Trump's political appointees are ignoring scientific evidence of the harms certain to be wrought by the rule changes.</p><p>To be sure, the EPA's fealty to industry is not unique to the Trump Administration. Indeed, the agency's loyalty to companies over consumers seems to be a longstanding bipartisan tradition. Trump's predecessor President Barack Obama also <a href="https://www.peer.org/epa-posts-pathetically-weak-scientific-integrity-proposal/" target="_blank">faced criticism</a> for actions – and inaction – by his EPA. </p><p>And numerous administrations are to blame for allowing the broad spread of toxic chemicals known <a href="https://theintercept.com/collections/bad-chemistry/" target="_blank">as PFAS</a> (short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that are linked to an array of serious health problems. </p>
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">But we simply cannot afford this political bargaining with our health anymore. In taking more than 200,000 lives in less than a year, t</span>he COVID-19 virus has underscored the already fragile condition of our health. People suffering from cancer, chronic kidney disease, obesity, and other problems are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill or dying if stricken with COVID-19, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html" target="_blank">according to the CDC.</a> Scientists <span style="background-color: initial;">have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004896972032221X" target="_blank">rightly pointed out</a></span> that <span style="background-color: initial;">environmental pollution is a contributing factor to the vulnerability of many people to the COVID-19 virus.</span></p><p>Adding more toxins into the air we breathe and water we drink only ensures more vulnerability and more deaths. </p><p>We already are facing frightening levels of neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer and disease in our population: Autism spectrum disorder is now effecting roughly <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/ss/ss6904a1.htm?s_cid=ss6904a1_w" target="_blank">1 in every 54 children</a>, far more prevalent than 20 years ago. The rate at which children are diagnosed with cancer has <a href="https://www.cancerfreeeconomy.org/childhood_cancer_prevention/?fbclid=IwAR2GKNud8wrvPjqvkeyDy03bJsDQK2z0wDVYHwyuQDmz_WgqfLyPosIVgs8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increased 34 percent</a> since 1975; in 2020 more than 16,800 kids are expected to be newly diagnosed. Overall, <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics#:~:text=Approximately%252039.5%2525%2520of%2520men%2520and,will%2520die%2520of%2520the%2520disease." target="_blank">close to 40 percent</a> of men and women in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. More than 600,000 people are <a href="https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/common.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dying every year</a> from cancer and more than 1.7 million are diagnosed with new cancers each year. </p>
<p>As an environmental journalist, I am astonished at the brazenness with which this administration has made clear that corporate well-being is more valuable than the health and well-being of citizens.</p><p>And as a mother, I agonize over the suffering, sickness and struggles I know lie ahead for our future generations. </p><p>Years from now, when our children tell their children about this time, when they try to explain how much was lost, how cavalierly we allowed their health to be traded for the health of corporate profits, they will be right to blame us. They will also be right to not forgive us. </p>
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Researchers have discovered a link between air pollution, food delivery and plastic waste. Sorapop / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered a link between air pollution, food delivery and plastic waste.
<p>In a study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-00961-1" target="_blank">Nature Human Behavior</a>, the researchers found that the more polluted air outside is, the more likely office employees are to use food delivery services. This, in turn, increases the waste produced from single-use food packaging and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastic-bags" target="_self">bags</a>.</p><p>"While we see more research on the impact plastic pollution is having on the natural environment, there has been less work trying to understand the human behaviour that drives plastic pollution," Alberto Salvo, one of the study's authors, said in an <a href="https://news.nus.edu.sg/research/air-pollution-drives-food-delivery-consumption-and-plastic-waste" target="_blank">NUS news release</a>. "This is where our study seeks to contribute – finding a strong causal link between air pollution and plastic waste through the demand for food delivery."</p>
<p>The study surveyed the lunch choices of 251 office workers for 11 workdays each in three Chinese cities known for having levels of smog – Beijing, Shenyang and Shijiazhuang, the release explained. They also looked at data from an online food delivery platform with over 350,000 users. By comparing both datasets with air pollution data during the lunch hour, NUS researchers found that employees were 43% more likely to order food delivery when there was a 100 μg m–3 increase in particulate matter pollution (PM2.5), <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/how-air-pollution-can-increase-food-deliveries-plastic-waste-3065010" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">International Business Times (IBT)</a> reported. By contrast, the general public was 7.2% more likely to use food delivery services with the same increase in air pollution.</p>
<p>PM is the most common indicator for air pollution, and includes nitrates, ammonia, sulfate, mineral dust and black carbon, the news report explained. According to the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Health Organization (WHO)</a>, PM affects more people than any other pollutant, and PM2.5, or fine particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, can penetrate the lung barrier and enter the blood system. Chronic exposure to particles contributes to the development of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/air-pollution-deaths-study-2648424420.html" target="_self">cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer</a>, the WHO said.</p><p>During the lunchtime periods surveyed by NUS researchers, PM2.5 levels were often well above the 24-hour U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 35 μg/m³, making pollution highly visible, the NUS release said.</p><p>"Faced with smog or haze outside, a typical office worker at lunchtime can avoid exposure only by ordering food to be delivered to his or her doorstep," said NUS researcher Chu Junhong in the NUS release.</p>
<p>Chu also explained in the release why air pollution seemed to have a smaller impact on food delivery in the general public than in workers, because people try to avoid the outdoors on a polluted day by using a home kitchen or eating at a cafeteria within their office building.</p><p>In a second part of the study, office workers submitted photos of their lunches, which researchers used to quantify the amount of disposable plastic in different dining choices, explained an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7M8AFvBEoE" target="_blank">NUS Business School video</a>.</p><p>Not surprisingly, researchers found that delivered meals used more plastic than meals eaten in restaurants. The average delivered meal used an average of 2.8 single-use plastic items or an estimated 54 grams of plastic, the video explained. By comparison, the average restaurant meal used an average of 6.6 grams of plastic, usually in the form of chopstick sleeves or bottles.</p>
<p>COVID-19 has <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-plastic-use-2645882816.html" target="_self">exacerbated the problem</a> by increasing the demand for delivered meals, which are usually packaged in plastic, the video explained.</p><p>According to the research, if all of China were exposed to a 100 μg/m³ PM2.5 increase in air pollution, the same as Beijing regularly experiences, 2.5 million more meals would be delivered daily, creating a total of five million more plastic food containers and plastic bags, reported <a href="https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/27790/20201020/air-pollution-causes-people-choose-food-delivery-services-resulting-plastic.htm" target="_blank">Science Times</a>.</p><p>NUS Researcher Liu Haoming said, "Individuals protect themselves from – and show their distaste for – air pollution by ordering food delivery which often comes in plastic packaging," in the NUS release.</p><p>IBT concluded that the study shows how people inadvertently contribute to the increasing plastic waste issues because they are trying to avoid air pollution. Liu added in the NUS release that the study makes it evident that "air pollution control can reduce plastic waste."</p><p>The findings could apply to other polluted developing nation-cities, such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, he said in the release.</p>
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