Dear Editor,
I read Damian Carrington's piece on microplastic being found in lungs (The Guardian, 6th April 2022, link below): Indeed, this is one more confirmation of a serious, lurking danger.
But what I find most disconcerting is our lack of action: In the past this was always excused by assumptions that measures (e.g. banning or taxing plastics) would "impact the economy" or "reduce convenience" or "impinge on choice". Pretty lame excuses then but even more hollow now that, with Covid, we have shown that, in order to protect public health, we are ready to implement draconian measures.
So, yes, where is this "readiness to act" when it comes to other dangers such as microplastics and air-pollution?
And, moreover, tackling one problem can help solve others. For example: Tyre-dust is a major contributor to air-, soil- and water-pollution so, by reducing road-transport, you not only help solve the identified problems but you also (massively) reduce CO2 emissions.
Our lack of action is a clear indication of "tunnel-vision" or "selective truth", something highlighted to me today when a friend, who was hospitalised for Covid, mentioned that it was antibiotics which saved him from suffocation (caused by a lung infection). So what are we doing? We are squandering the power of that drug by routinely feeding it to animals in mass meat-production!
Yes, there is a whole raft of "no-brainer" measures that we should be taking to protect both the planet and our own well-being. But we decide to simply not act despite numerous, clear warnings. How stupid is that?
Regards
