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Chemicals & plastics 4-19-2018

Carbon Storage sinks
  1. trees
  2. soil
1% leaves 40% trunks/branches 45% soil/organic matter 13% roots 1%debris 
Total soil carbon ecosystem storage around 80tons /acre
Plants grow by making sugar(carbohydrates) from carbon dioxide (co2+h20)- sharing theses sugars with soil microbes who in exchange feed the plant.
Sugars- fed to mycorrhizal fungi which give minerals Fungi attach to roots to exchange in a symbiotic relationship. The relationship builds better soil with aggregates to maintain moisture by a sticky protein called glomain(soil carbon) 
Feeding bacteria colonies whose enzymes break soil into nutrients.` 



Plastic is made from PETROLEUM, derived from petroleum > these raw finite materials come from a “Cracking process”- breaking hydrocarbons- oil- a carbon rich material.
Polymers are made up of carbon hydrogen (links of monomers)
2015.

9.1 billion tons ^ of plastic have been produced since 1950. 
Those are still in our environment today.


Recycling

Incineration

Landfills 

Pollution/littering

9% recycled 12%incineration and Over 79 % ends up in landfill/earth pollution
  1. Plastic is made from finite fossil fuels
  2. Carbon footprint can only be downcycled
  3. leaks chemicals as well as amonium
  4. the impact on the environment is messy and costly

18% of oil production is used for disposable plastics... 

Hidden plastics
  • 1.   micro plastics/ micro beads/ packaging
  • synthetic chemicals (acrylic and polyester)
  • tire dust*, paints styrene
  • estimated 8 million tons are mishandled landing in the oceans, rivers, streams 

Community - consumer unity
Composting systems bag sharing 


AGRICULTURE FACTS/ MICRO WASTE? CHEMICALS 

Conventional agriculture uses 32 billion pounds of chemical fertilizers annually. Mostly ineffective 
-phosphorus quickly binds to soil organisms making them unavailable to plants.

Up to 50% of nitrogen is lost in run off causing the algae bloom and dead zones in the ocean/gulf of Mexico 
Nitrate flux / hypoxia - low dissolved oxygen from excess pollutants (nitrogen, phosphorus)- fertilizers, manure . 

  • Micro plastics in the water polycyclic aromatic hydrogen’s PAHs 
  • Algae dimethyl sulfide - hosts on PCBs attracting marine life to eat it  
  • -lawns are the largest crop in the world

  • 80% of US imports are goods (2.272 trillion$)
Less than 1/3 are industrial machinery and equipment (486billion)
Largest sub category is oil/petroleum (180billion$)



CHEMICALS 
Chemicals mimic hormones in the bodies endocrine system
Endocrine disrupting chemicals EDCs
  •    can affect human reproduction, puberty, metabolism, functioning hormones 

Chemicals such as 
  • Bisphenol-BPA 
  • phthalates DEHP/DBP
  • Diethandamine DEA / monothanolamine
  • Triethanolanine TEA (soap)
  • polyethylene glycol PEG (sunscreen)
  •  

Understanding environmental toxins.
Found in out air, water, and food. 
Naturally occurring or human made chemicals. Endocrine distruptors mimic estrogen BPA

Carcinogens cancer causing. BENZENE organic occurs naturally in crude oil. Detergents, gasoline, plastics.

Pesticides are toxic to kill or repel living things. Found in food

Phthalates lower iq, asthma, reproductive organs. They are plastic softeners. Shampoos soap, flexible plastic. 

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