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Water

A new study suggests that usage of altrazine is directly correlated to rises in birth defects. Altrazine is a widely used herbicide and is also the most commonly detected pesticide in U.S. drinking water. The study also found that the chemical can actually alter DNA which is passed down generation to generation causing increasingly dire effects. The effects shown on DNA in this study are known as EPIGENETIC changes, which are not yet widely accepted by the scientific community.

https://www.ecowatch.com/generational-harm-of-pesticides-2596453994.html

Since modern plastic was first mass-produced, 8 billion tons have been manufactured. And when it's thrown away, it doesn't just disappear. Much of it crumbles into small pieces. Scientists call the tiny pieces "microplastics" and define them as objects smaller than 5 millimeters � about the size of one of the letters on a computer keyboard. Researchers started to pay serious attention to microplastics in the environment about 15 years ago. They're in oceans, rivers and lakes. They're also in soil. Recent research in Germany found that fertilizer made from composted household waste contains microplastics. Even more concerning, microplastics are in drinking water, in beer, in sea salt, in fish and shellfish.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/08/20/636845604/beer-drinking-water-and-fish-tiny-plastic-is-everywhere

The state of Kansas allowed hundreds of residents in two Wichita-area neighborhoods to drink contaminated water for years without telling them, despite warning signs of contamination close to water wells used for drinking, washing and bathing. In 2011, while investigating the possible expansion of a Kwik Shop, the state discovered dry cleaning chemicals had contaminated groundwater in Haysville. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment did not act for more than six years.

https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article216625720.html

Air

Nearly 100 Large wildfires are currently burning in the US, 42 of which are uncontained. 531 fires are currently burning in canada, 10% more than usual for this time of year. 279 of those fires are uncontrolled. Fires in both countries are both toward the west of the country. El Nino, bark beatles, climate change and big water companies are all being named as causes for the unusually large amount of fires.

Ash and smoke are choking Seattle�s air for the second week in a row, as wildfires smolder in Cascades and in British Columbia. The air quality in Seattle this week has been worse than Beijing's, which is one of the world�s most notoriously polluted cities. As of Wednesday morning, the Air Quality Index in Seattle was 190, a rating classified as �unhealthy.� In parts of the city, the index rose as high as 220, which is �very unhealthy.� Other parts of Puget Sound, like Port Angeles, Washington � 80 miles from Seattle � saw the AQI rise to 205 this week.

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/8/21/17761908/seattle-air-quality-haze-smoke-wildfire-health

Carbon dioxide emissions cause the Earth to warm, but no previous study has focused on examining how long it takes to reach maximum warming following a particular CO2 emission. Using conjoined results of carbon-cycle and physical-climate model inter-comparison projects, it was discovered that median time between an emission and maximum warming is 10.1 years, with a 90% probability range of 6.6�30.7 years. Uncertainties in the timing and amount of projected additional global temperature increase resulting from an incremental emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) derive from several factors. There are carbon-cycle uncertainties associated with the magnitude and timescales of changes in uptake and release of CO2 by the ocean and biosphere.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/9/12/124002

Air pollution causes a �huge� reduction in intelligence, according to new research,