Hacker News with Generative AI: Pollution

Elon Musk's xAI in Memphis: 35 gas turbines, no air pollution permits (eenews.net)
MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is belching smog-forming pollution into an area of South Memphis that already leads the state in emergency department visits for asthma.
Artificial Intelligence, Environmental Impact, Pollution, Tennessee
19 points by zzzeek 7 days ago | 2 comments
One-sixth of the planet's cropland has toxic levels of one or more metals (elpais.com)
The first 30 centimeters of soil are the foundation of life. This foot-deep slice of the pedosphere is the vital space for most plant roots. When roots go deeper, it’s to anchor the plant, not to nourish it. Within this narrow band, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and countless other microscopic organisms form the so-called biological crust, which in turn supports the larger life forms above.
Environment, Agriculture, Soil Science, Pollution, Sustainability
91 points by PaulHoule 10 days ago | 51 comments
EPA Plans to Stop Collecting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data from Most Polluters (propublica.org)
The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to eliminate long-standing requirements for polluters to collect and report their emissions of the heat-trapping gases that cause climate change.
Environment, Climate Change, Regulation, EPA, Pollution
9 points by hn_acker 29 days ago | 2 comments
America Is Backsliding Toward Its Most Polluted Era (theatlantic.com)
A third of Americans still breathe unhealthy air after decades of improvements—which the Trump administration wants to roll back.
Pollution, Environmental Policy, United States, Health
151 points by pmags 29 days ago | 198 comments
Researchers discover why plastic sheds dangerous fragments (sciencedaily.com)
The world is littered with trillions of micro- and nanoscopic pieces of plastic. These can be smaller than a virus -- just the right size to disrupt cells and even alter DNA. Researchers find them almost everywhere they've looked, from Antarctic snow to human blood.
Science, Environment, Pollution, Plastic, Health
94 points by docmechanic 31 days ago | 81 comments
Plastic-like materials that dissolve in the sea (riken.jp)
Microplastics—small fragments of plastics less than 5mm across—now infiltrate every corner of our planet, from remote regions of the deep ocean and the Arctic, to the very air we breathe.
Environmental Science, Microplastics, Pollution, Materials Science
5 points by geox 42 days ago | 0 comments
Mid-pregnancy pollution exposure linked to postpartum depression (bps.org.uk)
New work finds that exposure to particular pollutants during pregnancy is associated with depression up to three years postpartum.
Health, Pregnancy, Pollution, Mental Health
60 points by wjb3 42 days ago | 11 comments
UK tyres meant for recycling sent to furnaces in India (bbc.com)
Millions of tyres being sent from the UK to India for recycling are actually being "cooked" in makeshift furnaces causing serious health problems and huge environmental damage, the BBC has discovered.
Recycling, Environment, India, UK, Pollution
6 points by NoRagrets 44 days ago | 0 comments
Microbes can capture carbon and degrade plastic – why aren't we using them more? (nature.com)
Microorganisms have shaped Earth for almost four billion years.
Microbiology, Environmental Science, Sustainability, Bioremediation, Pollution
8 points by GavCo 45 days ago | 2 comments
Chewing gum is plastic pollution, not a litter problem (theconversation.com)
Thousands of tonnes of plastic pollution could be escaping into the environment every year … from our mouths. Most chewing gum on sale is made from a variety of oil-based synthetic rubbers – similar to the plastic material used in car tyres.
Pollution, Environment, Materials Science
47 points by zeristor 53 days ago | 37 comments
A river 'died' overnight in Zambia after an acidic waste spill at a Chinese mine (apnews.com)
Authorities and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that contaminated a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of pollution were detected at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) downstream.
Environmental Disaster, Pollution, Mining, Zambia, China
23 points by perihelions 54 days ago | 0 comments
Plastic pollution leaves seabirds with brain damage similar to Alzheimer's (theguardian.com)
Ingesting plastic is leaving seabird chicks with brain damage “akin to Alzheimer’s disease”, according to a new study – adding to growing evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife.
Environmentalism, Science, Wildlife, Pollution, Health
6 points by pseudolus 57 days ago | 0 comments
Microplastics Are Messing with Photosynthesis in Plants (scientificamerican.com)
Microplastics are now a ubiquitous part of our daily physical reality.
Environmental Science, Pollution, Plants, Microplastics
5 points by Brajeshwar 59 days ago | 0 comments
Microplastics Are Messing with Photosynthesis in Plants (scientificamerican.com)
Microplastics are now a ubiquitous part of our daily physical reality.
Science, Environmental Science, Pollution, Biology, Plants
17 points by twiddling 59 days ago | 3 comments
Microplastics hinder plant photosynthesis, study finds (theguardian.com)
The pollution of the planet by microplastics is significantly cutting food supplies by damaging the ability of plants to photosynthesise, according to a new assessment.
Microplastics, Pollution, Environment, Science, Plants
9 points by pseudolus 60 days ago | 0 comments
There's a Spoon's Worth of Plastic in Our Brains. Now What? (nymag.com)
In 2019, a toxicologist named Matthew Campen drove into the wilderness of the San Juan Mountains in northern New Mexico with his 12-year-old son.
Environment, Health, Science, Pollution
6 points by cable2600 61 days ago | 1 comments
Bird study finds larger volumes of toxic PFAS chemicals than previously reported (phys.org)
Researchers studying birds and the food they eat are now finding much larger volumes of the toxic PFAS chemicals than before.
Environmental Science, Chemistry, Wildlife, Pollution, PFAS
6 points by PaulHoule 64 days ago | 0 comments
A waste dump is constantly on fire in London. Why will no one stop it? (theguardian.com)
Under Arnolds Field, tonnes of illegally dumped waste have been burning for years, spewing pollution over the area. Locals fear for their health – and despair that no one seems willing to help
Environment, Pollution, London, Politics, Waste Management
9 points by tapper 66 days ago | 0 comments
Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust (newatlas.com)
Using scented products indoors changes the chemistry of the air, producing as much air pollution as car exhaust does outside, according to a new study.
Environmental Science, Health, Pollution, Chemistry
383 points by clumsysmurf 78 days ago | 197 comments
Dust from car brakes more harmful than exhaust, study finds (e360.yale.edu)
In cars, pollution doesn’t come from exhaust alone. It also comes from wear and tear on roads, tires, and brakes. According to new research, tiny bits of dust cast off by brake pads may inflict more harm than car exhaust.
Environmental Science, Transportation, Health, Pollution
456 points by Brajeshwar 83 days ago | 455 comments
Age of Invention: How Coal Won (ageofinvention.xyz)
Over the course of 1570-1600, people all along the eastern coast of England, and especially in the rapidly-expanding city of London, stopped using wood to heat their homes. They instead began to burn an especially crumbly, sulphurous coal from near Newcastle in Northumberland — a fuel whose thick, heavy smoke reeked, stinging their eyes, making them wheeze and cough, and tarnishing their clothes, furnishings, and skin.
History, Energy, England, Pollution, London
10 points by Khaine 86 days ago | 1 comments
Accumulation of Microplastics in Human Brain Tissue Rising Rapidly: Study (ecowatch.com)
In a new study, health sciences researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM) have found microplastics in human brain tissue in concentrations much higher than in other organs.
Environmental Science, Human Health, Pollution, Microplastics, Research
8 points by mikhael 92 days ago | 0 comments
Microplastics in the human brain (smithsonianmag.com)
The human brain may contain up to a spoon’s worth of tiny plastic shards—not a spoonful, but the same weight (about seven grams) as a plastic spoon, according to new findings published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.
Science, Health, Environment, Pollution
245 points by headclone 92 days ago | 206 comments
Trump administration halts proposed EPA limits on PFAS pollution (thenewlede.org)
Amid a flurry of actions curtailing Biden’s environmental policies, the administration of newly inaugurated President Donald Trump this week withdrew a plan to set limits on toxic PFAS chemicals in industrial wastewater.
Politics, Environment, Pollution, Chemicals
30 points by adomasm3 101 days ago | 5 comments
Burning Teslas Add to Toxic Mix of Pollution Delaying LA Return (bloomberg.com)
As the smoke clears from devastating Los Angeles wildfires, efforts to clean up the affected areas are being complicated by burnt-out electric and hybrid vehicles and home-battery storage systems.
Wildfires, California, Pollution, Electric Vehicles
14 points by petethomas 112 days ago | 0 comments
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem (japantimes.co.jp)
Flowing more than 4,300 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau in China, through mainland Southeast Asia and then into Vietnam’s Mekong Delta before finally emptying into the South China Sea, the Mekong River is among the top 10 waterways in Asia most responsible for riverine plastic waste reaching the world’s oceans.
Environmental Issues, Pollution, Mekong River, Southeast Asia, Plastic Waste
5 points by PaulHoule 131 days ago | 0 comments
Microplastics in the Air May Be Leading to Lung and Colon Cancers (ucsf.edu)
Tires and degrading garbage shed tiny pieces of plastic into the air, creating a form of air pollution that UC San Francisco researchers suspect may be causing respiratory and other illnesses.
Health, Environment, Pollution, Cancer, Research
15 points by srameshc 140 days ago | 1 comments
Car tires shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment (phys.org)
Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tons of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate in the soil, in rivers and lakes, and even in our food. Researchers in South China recently found tire-derived chemicals in most human urine samples.
Microplastics, Environment, Pollution, Tires, Science
295 points by geox 161 days ago | 321 comments
Is a 'Green' Revolution Poisoning India's Capital? (nytimes.com)
India promised to burn its trash mountains and safely turn them into electricity. But a New York Times investigation found hazardous levels of toxic substances around homes, playgrounds and schools.
Environmental Issues, India, Pollution, Public Health, Journalism
9 points by bobthepanda 180 days ago | 3 comments
It's raining PFAS in South Florida – study (sciencedirect.com)
Atmospheric deposition plays a crucial role in the fate and transport of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), especially in areas far from production sites.
Environmental Science, Pollution, Chemistry, South Florida, PFAS
85 points by Jimmc414 184 days ago | 40 comments