No matter where you are on our planet or what you do, you are now exposed to micro and nanoplastics. There are many pathways of these particles into our bodies, organs, and even our brain and heart. This VCC aim to provide comprehensive trusted information on the potential health impacts of the ubiquitous plastic pollution we have created in less than 70 years. We aim to build awareness, facilitate understanding, find solutions, built capacity, and reduce the impacts of plastics on environment and health. The images is from Zhang and You (2024, DOI: 10.102/acs.est.4c00010).
[Feb. 27, 2024] Microplastics accumulation in human placental specimens: “If we are seeing effects on placentas, then all mammalian life on this planet could be impacted. That’s not good.” Prof Matthew Campen, University of New Mexico, US. See the Guardian article by Damien Carrington published on 27 Feb 2024.
[Feb. 24, 2026] New Scenario for 2028 Points to an AI-related Highly Undesirable Future for Economy: Aisha Down and Dan Milmo discuss in their article “‘A feedback loop with no brake’: how an AI doomsday report shook US markets” the scenario study “THE 2028 GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE CRISIS A Thought Exercise in Financial History, from the Future” by Citrini and Alap Shah posted on February 22, 2026 on Substack. This study points out that the financial system of today was optimized over decades for a world of scarce human minds. AI changed this: “This is the first time in history the most productive asset in the economy has produced fewer, not more, jobs. Nobody’s framework fits, because none were designed for a world where the scarce input became abundant. So we have to make new frameworks. Whether we build them in time is the only question that matters.” The authors point out that the economy could find a new equilibrium, and “getting to this new equilibrium is one of the few tasks left that only humans can do. We need to do it correctly.”
[Feb. 12, 2026] Are we already at or close to a Point of no Return?: Damian Carrington raises this question in his article in the Guardian titled “Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say.” The most recent paper by Ripple et al. assesses “The risk of a hothouse Earth trajectory,” and the author's conclusions are pointing to an increasing probability of Earth moving into a hothouse state. The assessment should be an alarm bell for all of us. Continuing on the current path of our economy and society comes with the high risk of mass extinction, and the current uncertainty could soon turn into certainty.
