As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise many people are looking for an easy one-size-fits-all solution to our climate problem. One of the trendiest options is going vegan. Over recent years people have raised questions about the impact of eating massive amounts of meat and suggested that everyone going vegan could solve our climate crisis.

So, what’s the real environmental impact of our meat, and can going vegan really save the environment?

Many are concerned about the amount of water and food it takes to produce a pound of beef, but the reality is a typical cow’s water footprint is 94% green water. This means that 94% of a cow’s water footprint is just rainwater, and of course, once that water is used it’s not gone forever. It’s urinated out and cycled back into the environment. In fact, almonds end up using less green water than beef.

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Additionally, many are worried about the amount of food it takes to produce a pound of beef. Couldn’t we be feeding more people with all that food? More than 85% of livestock feed is non-human edible, and in the end, 4.3 billion kilograms of non-human edible food gets fed to livestock.

In a recent “What I’ve Learned” video the narrator goes into many of the common problems with the carbon footprint of our meat and why it’s actually more nuanced than you might think.

At the end of the day, the government and big businesses need to be held responsible for their role in destroying the environment. The role of fixing the environment does not fall on the individual consumer, but rather, the producer. If you’re curious about how eating sustainable agriculture stacks up against going vegan check out this article.

A new peer-reviewed scientific paper concludes that glyphosate-based herbicides do not contribute to sustainable agriculture, and in fact harm human and animal health, soil, and biodiversity.

This contradicts the narrative that glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides are good for the environment because they allow farmers to avoid plowing, consequently conserving soil.

The paper explores whether glyphosate-based herbicides are sustainable by examining their effects in the areas of human health, no-till agriculture, soil quality, aquatic creatures, and beneficial non-target species

It occurred to me that most of the emphasis was being placed on whether glyphosate caused human cancer and not on its impacts on the environment. That’s when I thought that if glyphosate was ever to be compatible with sustainable agriculture, it would have to have benign effects on the quality of the soil, non-target species, and mammalian cells. Pro-glyphosate supporters emphasised its value for protecting topsoil in no-till agriculture. That is what got me to investigate the science of glyphosate-based herbicides in their system-wide effects.

Glyphosate-based herbicides do not contribute to sustainable agriculture

The study is not the first of its kind, as many are now aware of the problems with glyphosate. To learn more about the effects of glyphosate both on your health and the environment, check out this article.

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Research has shown high levels of forever chemicals, arsenic, and lead in water samples across the U.S. This data comes from a nine-month investigation by Consumer Reports and The Guardian.

The passage of Clean Water Act in 1972 has made access to clean water a Government priority but millions of people are without safe drinking water. Contamination, deteriorating infrastructure, and inadequate treatment of water plants are all to blame for the lack of safe water. Inadequate drinking water is more common in lower-income areas across the country.

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Consumer Reports and The Guardian looked at water from 120 people across the U.S and tested for arsenic, lead, PFAS, and other contaminants. The samples collected come from water systems that service more than 19 million people. The data collected showed that 118 of the 120 samples had PFAS, arsenic levels above Consumer Report’s recommended maximum, or detectable levels of lead.

In response to the findings, Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson Andrea Drinkard says that 93% of the population supplied by community water systems gets water that meets “all health-based standards all of the time” and that the agency has set standards for more than 90 contaminants. That includes arsenic and lead but does not include PFAS.

We sampled tap water across the US – and found arsenic, lead and toxic chemicals

The Guardian breaks down all the data collected and goes into the health concerns the findings bring up. You can read that article here.

With the ever-present threat of climate change, many people are constantly talking about the most important thing we can do to cut carbon emissions. New research shows that cycling could be 10 times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero emissions cities.

In 2020, one in 50 new cars was fully electric, globally. Even if all new cars were electric, it would still take an estimated 15-20 years to replace the world’s cars running on fossil fuels.

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The emissions savings from switching to zero-carbon alternatives isn’t enough to make the difference we need in the time we have left to spare. Not to mention, electric cars aren’t completely emissions-free. The materials for the batteries, manufacturing, and the electricity used to run them all produce emissions.

Active traveling on the other-hand (walking and biking) is cheaper and better for both you and the environment. Research has shown that those who walk or cycle have lower carbon footprints than those who don’t even if they just walking and biking on top of motorized travel.

Researchers observed 4,000 people in London, Antwerp, Barcelona, Vienna, Orebro, Rome, and Zurich over a two-year period. Over the two years, participants logged a total of 10,00 travel diary entries documenting all the trips they make each day.

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We also estimate that urban residents who switched from driving to cycling for just one trip per day reduced their carbon footprint by about half a tonne of CO₂ over the course of a year, and save the equivalent emissions of a one-way flight from London to New York. If just one in five urban residents permanently changed their travel behavior in this way over the next few years, we estimate it would cut emissions from all car travel in Europe by about 8%.

Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

People who cycled on a daily basis had 84% lower carbon emissions from their daily travel than those who didn’t. Additionally, if the average person switched from a car to a bike just one day a week, they cut their emissions by a carbon footprint o 3.2kg of CO2. Research showed that emissions from cycling can be 30 times lower than a fossil fuel car, and 10 times lower than an electric car.

The latest studies on masks estimate that humans are using 129 billion face masks each month, or around 3 million a minute. Experts have warned that mask pollution may be our next big plastic problem. The world health organization estimates 89 million medical masks are required each month for Covid response, with little chance of a decrease anytime soon.

A year ago U.S officials estimated the country would need 300 million face masks to meet the need for the pandemic. The company 3M made 550 million masks in 2019 and has plans to produce 2 billion masks this year, for as long as the pandemic lasts.

There’s no way to recycle plastic masks the same way there are plastic water bottles and other plastic products. Most disposable face masks are made of three layers that just continue to break down into smaller and smaller nanoparticles.

Like other plastic debris, “disposable masks may accumulate and release harmful chemical and biological substances, such as bisphenol A, heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms,” according to Xu and Ren. Some of the toxic chemicals released during degradation of plastic polymers include phthalates, organotin, nonylphenol, polybrominated biphenyl ether and triclosan.

3 Million Masks a Minute: The Next Plastic Problem?

OceanAsia reports 52 billion face masks were produced in 2020. Of those, 1.56 billion masks were estimated to have ended up in the ocean. Using a reusable cotton mask is better for both your health and the environment.

A new study published in Environmental Science and Technology has detected 109 chemicals in pregnant women. Of the 109 chemicals, 55 have never been reported in people before. The chemicals were found both in the pregnant women and their children, indicating the chemicals travel through the placenta.

Scientists used high-resolution mass spectrometry to detect man-made chemicals in people. Of the chemicals that had not yet been identified in people:

• One is used as a pesticide
• Two are PFASs
• Two are used in cosmetics
• Four are used in high production volume (HPV) chemicals
• Ten are plasticizers

It’s very concerning that we are unable to identify the uses or sources of so many of these chemicals. EPA must do a better job of requiring the chemical industry to standardize its reporting of chemical compounds and uses. And they need to use their authority to ensure that we have adequate information to evaluate potential health harms and remove chemicals from the market that pose a risk.

Study finds evidence of 55 new chemicals in people

Using organic products and eating organic foods can limit the amount of chemicals in the body. Check out this article for more information on detoxing through diet.

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A new report by the World Wildfire Fund, as well as Mexico’s government shows that the Monarch butterfly population is plummeting. The current population has decreased 26% in December compared to the population in December of 2019.

Previously Monarchs occupied nearly seven acres in their hibernation forests but as of their last migration in 2020, they occupied around five acres.

The decline is likely related to the decreasing forest area in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, where the majority of hibernation colonies are recorded. Friday’s report found that in the year leading up to the most recent migration, the forest lost four times more trees than it did the year prior. 

Number of monarch butterflies hibernating in Mexico plunged 26% last year — and climate change and forest degradation are to blame

In the United States, the Monarch butterfly is close to endangered status. The decline in population is caused by numerous things, including logging and climate change. Monarch butterflies are important pollinators in our ecosystem.

As always the health of our environment and our own person health are intertwined. Pesticides and herbicides that are known to have a negative effects on human health also have a negative effect on the monarch butterfly population.