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We Are What We Consume
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This illustrated essay explores the plastic cycle connecting Appalachia to national microplastic pollution through the author's personal experience in the New River watershed, examining links between fossil fuel production, microplastic contamination, and arts-based activism promoting sustainable solutions.
Abstract This illustrated article explores how the plastic cycle connects Appalachia to the rest of the nation. I write from my personal experience living, working, and playing in the New River watershed, which feeds the Ohio River. These experiences led me to explore connections between fossil fuel production, microplastic pollution, and the work of artists and activists working to support sustainable solutions for our region and our planet. Through photographs and text, I explore an arts-based response to protect the region's water resources and explain how the cultural resources of the region can be used to protect our most valuable resource—fresh water.
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Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in a protected headwater stream supporting the endangered Formosan landlocked salmon, finding 1.0 to 3.3 particles per liter dominated by anthropogenic rayon fibers, with abundance positively linked to nutrient and ionic gradients reflecting upstream human land use.
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Microplastic concentrations in two Southern Appalachian headwater basins reached up to 65.1 MPs/L — in the upper quartile globally — with approximately 90% being fibers and concentrations increasing with land development intensity over a year of sampling.
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Researchers explored how DNA analysis of the plastisphere — the community of microbes that colonize plastic surfaces — can be used to trace where microplastics have traveled in the environment. This approach could help scientists and regulators identify pollution sources and track how microplastics move through ecosystems over time.
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Researchers evaluated microplastic pollution in freshwater streams across central Appalachia by examining the gut contents of 55 northern hogsucker fish from seven streams. They found an average of nearly 40 microplastic particles per fish, with the highest contamination in watersheds affected by mining, agriculture, and urban development. The study fills an important gap in understanding microplastic contamination in Appalachian freshwater systems and its potential consequences for ecosystem health.
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Researchers at the Leibniz Institute have spent a decade studying how microplastics — plastic particles smaller than 5mm — affect Baltic Sea biology and ecology, expanding their work to cover new microplastic-related environmental topics that may affect aquatic ecosystems humans depend on.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.