Plastic Litter
Tap water, Sea salt & Food.
Life in the Anthropocene.
In Europe, 72% of all tap water contains 1.9 fibers of plastic litter per 500ml of water.
That number increases to 94% of all tap water in the USA which contains 4.8 plastic litter fibers per 500ml of water.
And worldwide 83% of all tap water contains plastic litter.
But the issue of plastic contamination in our water is not just about tap water, nor is it, as we have previously talked about, only a concern with sea food. This is a growing man-made health issue which has been going on for a very long time and by now it is part of every aspect of society and our natural world.
For instance, scientists found plastics in products in studies on Chinese Sea salt in 2015.
Plastic particles originate worldwide from a wide range of products, such as face scrubs, cosmetics, plastic grass, litter in general, grocery bags
made of plastic, and plastic bottles which break down in the water and our soil.
2050AD
[ Oceans run the risk of having more total weight of plastic than fish.]

And as far as sea salt goes the plastic contamination is all around it because of how it is made from natural sea water. But it´s not just about sea salt. Plastic litter exists in our global water itself, in the small fish and plankton,
in the big fish eating all the small stuff. It exists in the soil, and it exists in a wide range of things we eat in our daily life.
We have found it in honey and all sorts of beverage. We can find it inside dead whales, sugar, salt and fish that is sold in fish markets all around the world.
And yes, plastics can be detected in the blood of almost every human being by now.
You see, the plastic stuff you discard in nature,
be it the forest or the deep dark blue sea,
it does not biodegrade. And it will never vanish without a trace or consequence.
No matter how many pieces it breaks down into, it does not cease to exist, and what actually happens is that the smaller the pieces get,
the bigger the issue because at some point it gets so small that while you can't see it, you are still eating it.
And so is all the other animals out there.
And neither whales or Brown bears, ravens or Homo sapiens have evolved to deal with plastics ending up inside our biological systems.
We suffer from litter, toxins, pollution, and waste just like the planet does.
And once the plastic litter is inside our bodies, science teaches us that plastic can ( and will ) penetrate our intestinal wall.
And I do not have to tell you that all this is
as bad for our own health and well being as it is for a whale.
[ 'The way toward better health.' ]
And no, the solution is not about you avoiding sea salt from China and buying European or American or South American sea salt because Chinese sea salt is not worse and more contaminated than any other sea salt product.
Nor is this an issue of sea salt only.
The sad reality of our global plastic litter issue is that every single Ocean across planet Earth is suffering from the same pollution.
Every ocean, and every body of water and every land area.
No matter where you plant your human feets, plastic littering is a global land issue too, with all regions of the world, on land, and sea suffering.
So the problem is going to be roughly the same no matter where you live and no matter where the sea food, tap water, salt, sugar, and food is produced.
Which is not just an opinion, but clearly backed up by the global studies we are now starting to see. Just like climate change and the need for lifting weights and doing cardio.
And as such, the only real fix on the way towards better individual and planetary health is to put an end to plastic litter and pollution.
On an individual level as well as a global level in every society and nation across the world.
My health is the health of this planet, and the health of this planet is the health of you, no matter if you wish to acknowledge that simple fact or not, that is how it is and that makes the way forward very obvious for anyone interested in their own and others health & well being.
Connect with me
in this life of ours scattered across this tiny sphere
Views from Earth by Mike Koontz
My photography and writing as it is represented on G+
Healthier living, Fitness and Health, the facts and science by Mike Koontz
My popular health and fitness column on G+
Contemporary life in the Anthropocene by Mike Koontz
Random thoughts on life column over at G+
My personal fav print, 'a norse summer song' at Printler, check it out and buy it today :).
Fine art print by Mike Koontz, Printler.com
Scandinavian.Fitness, are you in need of a sound and fierce fitness voice?. Get in touch with this Viking.
Scandinavian.Fitness by Mike
Related Article. A prescient story about our ocean and individual health.
a Norse View Article, our marine world and health in the Anthropocene.
Writer and fine art photography
Mike Koontz
To the daisy that is my sun and inspiration
Medium
Buy my living room fine art
Scandinavian Fitness