global briefs

Shining Example

matt holmes/Unsplash.com

Saving Arctic Ice Using Glass Beads The California nonprofit Arctic Ice Project is proposing to scatter a thin layer of reflective silica glass particles over parts of the Arctic in an effort to protect it from the sun and help ice to re-form. Engineer Leslie Field, an adjunct lecturer and chief technical officer at Stanford University, says they are trying to break a self-destructive feedback loop.

An underrated feature of Arctic sea ice is the ability of its bright, white surface to reflect light. The frigid poles have acted for millennia as a massive umbrella that helps keep the planet cool and climate stable. Now much of that ice is rapidly melting. As temperatures rise, the reflective white ice dissolves into darker blue water that absorbs more of the sun’s energy instead of reflecting it into space. Warmer water accelerates melting, which means yet more absorption of heat, which drives further melting, in a cycle that is part of the reason why the Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the planet. In July, the ice cover was as low as it has ever been at the same time of year.

Skin Relief

California Passes Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act California governor Gavin Newsom has signed the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act into law, which bans 24 ingredients from cosmetics and personal laura chouette/Unsplash.com care products sold within the state. The list includes mercury, formaldehyde, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, endocrine-disrupting phthalates and long-chain parabens used as preservatives, among other chemicals. Many have been linked to breast cancer, reproductive and neurological damage, birth defects, organ system toxicity and developmental delays.

National standards lag behind the rest of the world and have not been updated since being created in 1938. Despite the industry’s immense size, only two pages of the 829-page Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act govern cosmetics. The new California law will make products safer for everyone, but Black women stand to benefit more because they represent the biggest U.S. market for cosmetics. Environmental watchdog Treehugger notes that Black women account for an estimated 22 percent of the country’s $42-billion per year personal care products market, despite comprising less than 7 percent of the national population.

Tainted Taps

WellExplorer App Can Warn of Toxic Drinking Water kobu agency/Unsplash.com The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has created WellExplorer, a new, interactive tool that allows residents and scientists to find out what toxins have been deposited in their drinking water as a result of hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Exposure to fracking fluid in drinking water has been shown to increase the risk of respiratory problems, premature births, congenital heart defects and other health problems.

Different fracking sites use a diverse mix of chemical ingredients, and individuals and researchers are often uninformed about the exact health consequences of living near a particular well. People can view the closest fracking sites in their state, learn which chemicals are used at those sites and view their levels of toxicity by entering their zip code. WellExplorer can be obtained for free at WellExplorer.org or downloaded on Apple’s App store.

A recent study published in the journal Database found that operators of wells in Alabama use a disproportionately high number of chemicals that target estrogen pathways, as do those in Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania in impacting testosterone pathways. The information found through WellExplorer might be particularly relevant for those that use private water wells.