We moan, groan, and complain about pollution and rightfully so. Landfills are overflowing; plastic waste chokes our lakes, rivers, and the oceans. Cigarette butts litter the roadways; old vehicles, appliances, and unwanted items clutter forested areas. Not only is all this garbage an eyesore, but it’s also detrimental to the environment.

The overabundance of trash is a serious problem demanding our immediate attention. It’s not going to go away on its own. Humans made the mess; we have to clean it up. For millions of years, Mother Earth pretty well took care of all our planet’s waste, but nature cannot reclaim manmade, non-organic materials on land or in the sea.

Our forefathers invented new machines and materials but never imaged ‘progress’ could result in such a plight. Since the Industrial Revolution and especially during the last century, humans have continuously created more and more items that last long beyond their useful lives.

Related: Drinking Bottled Water Means Drinking Microplastics, According To Damning New Study

After World War II, mobility and convenience became the preferred mode of life. We became a throwaway society where items were not made to last. The idea of ‘toss it away and buy another’ applied to nearly all consumer products. It was cheaper to buy a new kitchen appliance or a children’s toy than to fix it. In the last 50-75 years, durable and reusable items like glass milk and soda bottles have been replaced with plastic. We are now left with figuring out how to get rid of all the garbage.

According to the EPA, in 2014, the United States produced about 258 million tons of waste. Approximately 35 percent of it was recycled; the remaining 136 million tons were dumped into landfills.

Much of that garbage consisted of materials that have limited recycling programs available like tires, electronics, batteries, appliances, and cigarette butts. These items along with the rest of all the consumer and industrial waste products add up to a massive amount of trash with nowhere to go.

How Do We Dispose of Non-Recyclables in a Responsible Manner? Burning or burying garbage is not the answer. It just compounds the problem by poisoning the land and water as well as the air. What the world needs is a way to correct the imbalance in a responsible way.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

As conscientious citizens, we do our part by recycling some of our plastic, glass, and cardboard as well as taking steps to lessen our carbon footprint. But are we doing enough? What do we do about items that are not recyclable? Is it possible to make a dent in all the accumulated garbage while keeping up with the waste we are creating now?

I asked that last question to Lauren Taylor, Global Vice President of Communications at an innovative recycling company named TerraCycle. She says,

People are finally realizing the past 40-50 years are catching up with us, and there’s a real crisis. I don’t think it’s possible [to catch up with the waste problem] unless we start changing some things. If we don’t, it’s not going to get better.”

TerraCycle

TerraCycle is making this insurmountable task a little easier by providing a way to recycle the unrecyclable. They have become an international leader in converting non-recyclable waste into raw materials or useful affordable products.

In partnership with major corporations, they run free collection programs. Individuals, groups, schools, and businesses sign up for one or more programs to recycle items such as cigarette waste, used oral care products, contact lenses, energy bar wrappers, and used water purification products. During the past 15 years, over 100 million people in 21 countries have collected and recycled over four billion used products and packages. In turn, the recycled plastics, metals, fibers, and wood have been reused, composted, or upcycled into new products.

Earth911

There is another chapter in the recycling the unrecyclable story that needs to be addressed—E-cycling. Computers, monitors, telephones, and other electronic gadgets are left in limbo when it comes to recycling. Some retailers like Best Buy, Office Depot, and Staples have a drop-off service for used electronics, and most cell phone providers offer recycling programs. Some of these services are free, some charge a fee. By using Earth911, you can find an e-cycle center near you, whether it be a store or a recycling center specializing in electronics.

This website also has listings for recyclers of other waste such as tires, automotive parts, paints, batteries, construction materials, and metals that need to be disposed of. Earth911 has a database of 100,000+ recycling centers across the United States, and their blog has interesting articles to help answer questions about green living.

There are many companies, organizations, and projects doing a commendable job of collecting and recycling the waste piling up on the land, but that is only a part of the problem. How about the seas? The oceans cover nearly two-thirds of the surface of our planet and play a vital role in producing oxygen and providing food. Millions of tons of plastic and other debris pollute these waters endangering the sea life and in turn, endangering our own.

Garbage in the Oceans

Ocean plastic can be found everywhere from the coastal regions to the deep sea, even buried in Arctic ice. In an article on National Geographic’s website, Laura Parker reports,

In 2010, eight million tons of plastic trash ended up in the ocean from coastal countries—far more than the total that has been measured floating on the surface in the ocean’s ‘garbage patches.’”

According to the Worldwatch Institute, the amount is now approximately 10–20 million tons of plastic ending up in the oceans each year.

A recent study conservatively estimated that 5.25 trillion plastic particles weighing a total of 268,940 tons are currently floating in the world’s oceans. This plastic debris results in an estimated $13 billion a year in losses from damage to marine ecosystems, including financial losses to fisheries and tourism as well as time spent cleaning beaches. Animals such as seabirds, whales, and dolphins can become entangled in the plastic matter; and floating plastic items—such as discarded nets, docks, and boats—can transport microbes, algae, invertebrates, and fish into non-native regions, affecting the local ecosystems.”

Some of the plastic is tossed from vessels sailing the high seas, but a majority of the trash originates from coastal outflow. With larger populations along the coastlines, more trash is being produced with an increasing percentage of that winding up in the water. So, a logical solution to curbing ocean pollution is to catch the trash before it floats out to sea. That’s the principle behind the Seabin and Plastic Bank projects.

Related: Ocean Plastic To Triple Within A Decade 

The Seabin Project

The Seabin is a floating trash receptacle located at marinas, docks, yacht clubs, and commercial ports. It is connected to a submersible water pump cycling water through the trash bin. The floating debris is captured in catch bags located inside the Seabin. It collects trash, oil, fuel and detergents, as well as micro-plastic and micro-fiber debris before it flows into the ocean. Seabins collect three-quarters of a ton of debris per year including plastic bottles, plastic utensils, disposable cups, cigarette butts, plastic particles, and surface pollutants. The trash is either disposed of properly or recycled.

The Plastic Bank

The Plastic Bank impacts high poverty areas by turning plastic waste into money. It is a fairly simple process—people collect plastic, take it to a recycling center and in return receive money, items, or services. This stops the flow of plastics into the oceans while providing a positive future for impoverished people.

The recycled plastic collected through the Plastic Bank is sold to companies to use in the place of virgin plastic for their products or packaging. The collectors have a source of income to provide a better life for their families. It is a win-win for everyone.

Related: How Microplastics Enter the Food Chain Through Organic Fertilizers

Where Does the Recovered Ocean Plastic Go?

• In France and Germany, Proctor & Gamble started using reclaimed beach plastic to make bottles for Head and Shoulders shampoo. In the coming years, they plan to expand the beach plastic repackaging to other P&G products in the United States and the United Kingdom.
• Adidas uses yarn made from ocean plastic in a line of tennis shoes and athletic shorts.
• The Ahi Performance Cruiser Skateboard contains 50 square feet of abandoned fishing nets.
• The bottles used to package Method’s Dish and Hand Soap are made from recycled beach plastic.
• Bionic Yarn creates a line of textiles that are used in consumer products ranging from boat covers to furniture to high-end clothing.
• Sunglasses, jewelry, luggage, art, and sculptures also contain recycled plastic. The list is endless.

What Can We Do?

We can play a role in recycling. See trash along the side of the road? Pick it up and dispose of it properly. Separate your garbage into cardboard, plastics, glass, and paper and take them to a recycling center. Find programs that accept other items that need to be disposed of. Take a walk on the beach and collect the litter. There are hundreds of ways to show your respect for our environment.

We can do our part by making wise decisions in the products we purchase and how we dispose of the waste. It does not require a major life change. It can be a small step—recycle something you haven’t before, purchase less of something, change the brand of an item you purchase because they do something different with their packaging. Small steps lead to big steps toward change.

Americans are most likely to die of heart disease. It’s listed as the number one cause of death in America said to kill 635,260 people a year. Car accidents kill about 40,000 people a year. Car accident deaths are on the decline but opioid deaths are increasing. In fact, opioid deaths just passed car accidents. This should put opioid deaths at the bottom of this list of 12 Leading Causes of Deaths in the U.S.

This is a first.  Americans are now more likely to die from an opioid overdose than from a car wreck, according to the National Safety Council.

Vox did some statistics:

Based on 2017 data, people in the US have a 1 in 103 chance of dying in a motor vehicle crash over their lifetime, but a 1 in 96 chance of dying of an opioid overdose.

In comparison, a person has a 1 in 6 chance of dying of heart disease, a 1 in 7 chance of dying of cancer, a 1 in 285 chance of dying of a gun assault, a 1 in 1,117 chance of dying by drowning, a 1 in 188,364 chance of dying in a plane crash, and a 1 in 218,106 chance of getting killed by lightning.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the age-adjusted motor vehicle death rate hit 11.5 per 100,000 people in 2017, down from a recent peak of 15.2 in 2002.

By contrast, opioid overdose deaths — now largely driven by illicit fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that’s spread in black markets for drugs — hit an age-adjusted rate of 14.9 per 100,000 in 2017, up from 2.9 in 1999.

Click to read more on Vox

Related: Colbert Calls Out Big Pharma For New Plans To Profit On Opioid Addiction

Recommended: Best Supplements To Kill Lyme and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Lyme Disease

It has been two years since the U.S. Department of Agriculture passed the regulations mandating the labeling of genetically mandated ingredients. The finalized regulations that have recently been released leave much to be desired. Just Label It, a prominent organization devoted to mandatory GMO labeling, released a statement expressing their disappointment.

Specifically, we are deeply disappointed that the final rule does not clearly require the disclosure of all genetically engineered ingredients, including highly refined sugars and oils, and new GMO techniques like CRISPR and RNAi. The rule fails to require that foods be disclosed using terms that consumers understand like ‘genetically engineered’ or ‘GMO.’ And it leaves consumers in the dark if they live in rural places with poor cell service or don’t have smart phones.”

Related: Gluten Intolerance, Wheat Allergies, and Celiac Disease – It’s More Complicated Than You Think

Labeling Options

Companies have until 2022 to implement these regulations. There are a few GMO labeling options.

Companies can use clear wording to state the presence of genetically modified ingredients on their packaging. Instead of “G.M.O.’’ and “genetically engineered,” they can say “bioengineered” or “BE.”

Companies can use an electronic digital link like a QR code that consumers can read with a cell phone app that will inform the consumer of the ingredients. Such a link must be accompanied by the statement “Scan here for more food information,” or equivalent language.

The amended Act requires that the use of an electronic or digital link to disclose BE food must be accompanied by the statement, ‘Scan here for more food information’ or equivalent language’ – deemed too hard for shoppers. Regulated entities that choose this option are required to include a statement on the package that instructs consumers on how to receive a text message.”

Companies can use a friendly-looking symbol (and the symbol can also be black and white):

Additionally, a phone number or a web address to get more information are options for smaller manufacturers or for small packages.

There is also the “text message” option:

The NPRM proposed text message as an additional disclosure option if the Secretary were to determine that shoppers would not have sufficient access to digital or electronic disclosure. Food manufacturers and retailers that commented on this option were generally supportive of this option. Thus, AMS is adopting the text message option in § 66.108. Regulated entities that choose this option are required to include a statement on the package that instructs consumers on how to receive a text message.

Related: How to Avoid GMOs in 2018 – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering

There are companies like Campbell’s, Mars, Danone, Kellogg’s, Coca-Cola, and Unilever that will be labeling GMOs, regardless of the lax new regulations. Many international corporations, especially those that do business in Europe, already provide those labels. But there are many corporations that haven’t made that same commitment.

Confusing Regulations With Loopholes

The new labeling system seems designed to frustrate all but the most bureaucratic-loving individuals. Companies have to sort through a myriad of expensive and time-consuming labeling conditions. Consumers aren’t offered a simple way to identify GMO ingredients. Some ingredients won’t even be labeled, including high fructose corn syrup, refined sugar beets, certain oils (like canola), and other refined products.

According to the labeling guidelines:

Thus, based on the available scientific evidence, refined beet and cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, degummed refined vegetable oils, and various other refined ingredients are unlikely to require BE food disclosure because the conditions of processing serve effectively to degrade or eliminate the DNA that was initially present in the raw agricultural commodity.”

While that may be true from a scientific standpoint, it only makes the new regulations problematic in the eyes of consumers. When corn is an ingredient it’s almost always a GMO, and informed shoppers will know that. How much faith will they have in non-organic products containing corn that are not marked BE? This also ignores the possibility of customers choosing non-GMO products for environmental reasons. The refined product may not have any engineered DNA left in the final product but the corn (or beets) will still have been grown with the increased pesticides and other environmentally harmful practices associated with genetically modified crops.

And there are other exclusions.

Incidental additives will not require labeling.

Such an item will only trigger disclosure when it is used as an ingredient that is included on the ingredient list, not when used as an incidental additive.”​

To-Go foods are exempt.

Salads, soups, and other ready-to-eat items prepared by grocery stores are exempt from the disclosure requirements.”​

Meat and dairy from animals fed GMOs are exempt.

The amended Act prohibits a food derived from an animal from being considered a bioengineered food solely because the animal consumed feed produced from, containing, or consisting of a bioengineered substance.”​

Companies will be allowed to use the same equipment on GMO and non-GMO crops.

Gene-edited foods like CRISPR will be exempt.

Businesses with annual sales are less than $2.5m are also exempt.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

Foods like cheese or yogurt that are made with bioengineered yeasts or rennet are not exempt.

Nothing New

Sixty-four countries worldwide have managed to implement GMO labeling. But the new GMO labeling for the U.S. does the opposite of what it should do. These regulations are not convenient or clear. If anything they’ll probably make grocery shopping even harder for many people.

Sources:

• National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard – USDA
• Government lays out the rules for labeling for genetically modified foods – CNBC
• The USDA’s Final Rule for GMO Labeling Stinks – Reason
• Statement from Just Label It on USDA’s Final Rule for Nationwide Disclosures of GMO Foods – Just Label It

Most of the food safety inspections have been stopped during the federal government shutdown. FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says he is trying to figure out what the most essential inspections are and continue those inspections. To achieve this the FDA is said to have to force furloughed workers to work without being paid.

There are important things we are not doing.” – FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb

FDA inspectors are not testing products for salmonella, E. coli, listeria, etc. If companies find contamination issues the FDA will still publically announce the recalls. The FDA is still checking foreign food, but there is virtually no inspections of domestic food production.

We’re doing everything we can to try to maintain our basic consumer protection role. That’s our focus.” – Gottlieb said in interview to NBC

https://twitter.com/SGottliebFDA/status/1083055700593516545

Some of FDA’s work, such as drug approvals, inspections of drug-producing facilities, and regulating tobacco products, are paid for by user fees. They’re not greatly affected by the shutdown. But much of the budget is specifically appropriated by Congress, and it’s on hold. About 7,000 of the agency’s 17,000 employees, or 41 percent of staff, are furloughed.” – NBC

Gottlieb plans to call in about 10% of the FDA’s inspection workforce to re-start the inspections of the “high-risk domestic facilities.” Gottlieb estimates that the FDA employs about 5,000 inspectors and normally does about 160 inspections a month.

It’s something we currently aren’t doing. I think it’s the right thing to do for public safety.”

Kare11.com reports that almost nearly years ago Minneapolis Public Schools stopped serving processed foods and instead opted for whole foods. The school district reports selling 1.2 million more school meals because of the change.

We see some processed foods in the photos, but certainly, nothing like what our kids are usually subjected to in public schools.

Bertrand Weber learned of the importance of whole foods when his son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 31 years ago. Bertrand Weber became the director of the district’s Culinary and Wellness Services and decided to introduce children to “whole chickens instead of nuggets and actual potatoes instead of tater tots.”

That’s when I started looking into school lunch and holy crap, we needed to do something.”

“They are baby steps but we are introducing them to whole grains, different flavors and textures. It’s not always the most popular but every time we run a new menu item we see kids take a little more at a time.” – Weber to Kare11.com

Related: Stop Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet

Today's school lunch is not the lunch of our childhoods, especially in Minneapolis where chef @BertrandWeber has changed everything. Real food, real farms, real flavor. For every child. @janashortal sat down to talk with him, today on @kare11 at 6:30 #btn11 pic.twitter.com/EeoONVW1La

— bengarvin (@bengarvin) December 17, 2018

Related: How to Make the Healthiest Smoothies – 4 Recipes

It might have taken longer to arrive than last year, but flu season has officially arrived for 2018-2019. Two states, Colorado and Georgia, are currently reporting high levels of influenza-like illnesses (ILI). The average length of flu season is 16 weeks, so expect to be inundated with flu shot notifications until April. The severity of the season remains to be seen, although seven deaths of children due to flu complications have been reported thus far.

This and Last Year

The 2017-2018 flu season was a particularly difficult one. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it officially lasted for a longer than usual 19 weeks and was the first flu season to be classified as high severity among all age groups. Last year was also notable for the number of children who died from the flu, the highest number of pediatric deaths registered during a normal flu season.

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

Although the CDC doesn’t have final numbers, the flu shot in 2017-2018 is estimated to be 40 percent effective. But that percentage changes based on the strain of flu. Last year’s flu shot was the most powerful against the H1N1 strain of influenza A, with a 65 percent effectiveness rate. The flu shot had a 49 percent effectiveness against Influenza B and a 25 percent effectiveness versus H3N2. Yet the flu shot was the least effective against the most dominant flu strain of the season, H3N2.

A study from Rice University predicts that the flu shot will be 19 percent effective this year. According to numbers from the CDC, that percentage of effectiveness would be the lowest the flu shot has been since 2014-2015. As of right now, influenza A(H1N1) is the most prevalent flu strain.

The Flu Shot

The CDC heavily recommends the flu shot. As the season continues, flu vaccine reminders will follow you everywhere you go, pushing the idea that even a slightly reduced chance of getting the flu is worth the physical pain, headaches, diarrhea, loss of appetite, fatigue, and other potential vaccine side effects.

The flu shot might not even afford you full protection for a full month, let alone through the entire flu season. A study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases in September 2018 found that the likelihood of getting the flu even after vaccination increases by 16 percent every 28 day period after the initial shot. According to the authors of the study,

Although our results suggest that some number of influenza cases may be averted by delaying vaccination, any changes in recommendations regarding the timing of vaccination should be approached with caution.”

In addition to timing your flu shot to get the full protection, you also have to contend with the period of time after vaccination when the flu shot protection hasn’t kicked in. The CDC cautions that it takes two weeks for the flu shot to provide full protection. If the CDC and this study are accurate, there is a two week period where the individual who received the vaccine is fully protected. Worth it?

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

All Risk…Any Reward?

Flu vaccine inserts for popularly used products like Afluria, Fluzone, Fluarix, and Fluvirin report that the most commonly experienced adverse reaction is pain at the injection site. Manufacturers also mention headaches, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and fatigue. Serious side effects can also occur, like brain inflammation, convulsions, Bell’s palsy, paralysis of limbs, neuropathy, shock, asthma, wheezing, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and other respiratory issues.

The flu is no laughing matter, but there are better, less harmful alternatives to the flu shot. Check out this article for some great ideas.  Do your self and your immune system a favor. Don’t damage it with the flu shot this year.

Sources:

• CDC reports high flu virus activity – ABC
• Influenza Vaccine – A Comprehensive Overview of the Potential Dangers and Effectiveness of the Flu Shot – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• Study: Flu vaccine protection starts to wane within weeks – CIDRAP
• Rice Study Predicts 19 Percent Efficacy for 2018-2019 Influenza Vaccine – The Vaccine Reaction
• Summary of the 2017-2018 Influenza Season – CDC.gov

The EPA says the federal rules imposed by Obama’s administration to limit mercury and other toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants are too costly to justify, and are not “appropriate and necessary.” For now, the EPA has not done away with the 2012 restrictions because utility companies have already spent billions of dollars to comply with the standards. But the result could set a precedent for other environmental pollution, and it enables coal mining companies to challenge the restrictions in court.

It drastically changed the formula the government uses in its required cost-benefit analysis of the regulation by taking into account only certain effects that can be measured in dollars, while ignoring or playing down other health benefits.” – NY Times

“It will make it much more difficult for the government to justify environmental regulations in many cases.” – Robert N. Stavins, professor of environmental economics at Harvard University

When coal is burned it releases mercury into the air. Mercury causes health risks including neurological disorders, heart and lung problems, and can lead to autoimmune diseases and birth defects. In the new proposal, Trump’s EPA estimates the cost of compliance to be between $7.4 billion and $9.6 billion annually while the benefits are only $4 million to $6 million a year. But the Obama administration calculated that the cleaner air would prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths each year and save about $85 billion a year in health costs due to the decrease of mercury, particulate matter, and other toxic pollutants.