Spread Cheer Not Waste: Bringing Back the True Holiday Spirit

By Swapna Nelaballi, Ecology Center Guest Writer

Frenzied buying beckons the arrival of the holiday season, fueled by attractive deals and discounts readily available with a tap of our finger. But, with every tap we move further away from the true spirit of the holiday season. Impulsive shopping sprees replace simpler, more meaningful gestures of love and gratitude that celebrate the non-materialistic values symbolic of our holidays. Beyond diluting the essence of the season and breaking the bank, there is a larger and often ignored cost to our festivities, the environmental cost of stuff.

The holidays mark a period of extravagance when moderation goes MIA.  From dining, decorating, to gifting and receiving, everything is done in excess. And the environmental costs of this excessiveness are staggeringly high. A study that estimated the carbon cost of Christmas noted that overall consumption including food, travel, lighting, and gifts over three days of Christmas festivities results in over 1400 pounds of carbon emissions per person, or the weight of ‘1000 Christmas puddings!’

The cost of being jolly

When ‘tis the season to be jolly came to mean ‘tis the season for gifting is unclear. But come November we dutifully transition into skillful hunters, tracking and catching perfect deals that promise us our yearly quota of holiday cheer. The National Retail Federation forecasts holiday sales between November and December to increase by 6-8% compared to 2021, and Americans will likely spend nearly a trillion dollars on holiday shopping in 2022. 

But every item we purchase comes at a great cost to our planet. Manufacturing and transporting gifts and other goods use large amounts of energy and non-renewable natural resources while flooding our environment with toxic by-products and planet-warming emissions.

And then there is the waste that follows. The average American produces 25% more waste during the holiday season or one million tons of extra waste each week! Only a tiny fraction of this waste is recycled. The rest, around five million metric tons of holiday waste including packing material, unwanted gifts, and other items, journey on to their forever homes: landfills. There, they lie rotting, emitting greenhouse gasses, and leaching toxic chemicals into our air, water, and soil.

‘Unwrapping the impacts’ of wrapping

Even the seemingly innocuous wrapping paper, an omnipresent element of the gifting and receiving ritual, finds a place on the ‘naughty’ list. The production of one pound of wrapping paper generates 3.5 pounds of carbon emissions while using up 1.3 pounds of fossil fuel. This is a gross underestimation of the environmental impact as it does not include emissions from packing and transportation from foreign countries,  or other toxic emissions in producing colorful, glossy, and/or glittery wrapping paper.

Americans use 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper annually, mostly during the holiday season. To produce this quantity, approximately 17,000 barrels of oil are burned, and ~16 million pounds of CO2 is released into our atmosphere. Sadly, many kinds of wrapping paper are not 100% paper and hence cannot be recycled. Shiny, colorful, metallic, and glittery wrapping papers are lined or manufactured with plastic. It is next to impossible for recycling units to separate fibers from this paper-plastic combination. Thus, such wrapping paper is used once before ending up in landfills. Approximately 2.3 million pounds of wrapping paper or half the amount used winds up in landfills.

wrapping paper waste

According to a study by Stanford University, if every American family wrapped just three gifts in used paper instead, we can save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields!

Wrapping paper is one single component.

Now add boxes, plastics, ribbons, packing paper, insulating material, foils, labels, thermocol, styrofoam, and more to the mix. The exponential increase in cost and the magnitude of impact become hard to comprehend.  

And we are yet to consider the gift itself!

Returns are not free

In the days that follow the holiday festivities, 55% of American consumers are likely to return unwanted gifts thanks to generous return policies especially on e-commerce websites. In 2020, a single carrier (UPS) handled close to 2 million return packages on January 2nd alone!

While on the surface returning unwanted gifts seems like a better alternative to throwing them in the trash, it isn’t. Returning comes with a hefty carbon footprint. According to an impact report, in 2020, shipping returns alone resulted in 16 million metric tons of carbon emissions. A major proportion of these emissions are from returning holiday gifts.

Every returned package leaves a trail of emissions. Once returns are transported back to warehouses and reprocessed, less than half of them are repackaged and resold at full price. A chunk ends up in thrift and discount stores. The rest are offloaded at landfills.

Close to five billion pounds of returned, unused gifts end up in US landfills, and thus the energy and precious non-renewable natural resources utilized in the initial production and transportation of these goods are recklessly squandered.

Breaking the gift-giving ritual is up to us

Is our fleeting holiday cheer worth these huge, and indubitably permanent environmental costs? Must our celebrations be rooted in materialism? Are we truly honoring the spirit of our holidays by equating gifting with giving?

In answering these questions for ourselves, we will likely arrive at the conclusion that things must change, especially if we want to leave our children with more than just an unhealthy planet. 

This change must come from within each one of us.

Ours is a culture of waste, rife with messaging that encourages us to use more than is necessary, and one that stigmatizes the ‘less is more’ way of life. To turn the tide, the ‘make-take-waste’ cultural messaging must be replaced by an emphasis on factors truly tied to our happiness and wellbeing, such as interpersonal connections or connections with nature, among others. We need better policies that make it easier for consumers to reduce, reuse, and recycle. And, we need to support the work of organizations that promote systemic solutions to the problems of overconsumption and material waste. 

Such systemic change will take time but is possible with sustained effort. 

In the meantime, the retail industry will continue to entice us to buy more. That is their job and priority.

But as consumers we (always) have a choice. We can surrender to smart marketing tactics, or we can reclaim our agency.  

We can reclaim our agency and exercise our power to alter the course of our seasonal celebrations. We can exercise our power to switch the focus from the materialistic aspects back to the non-materialistic spirit of holiday merriment. In doing so, we can experience the joy of giving up materialism to leave a greener legacy for our children. 

As consumers, we have enormous power to instigate change. We must not forget it. And we must use it.

A great place to start would be to reduce, reuse, and repurpose stuff. It's a wonderful opportunity to get creative.

Here are some examples of greener gifting ideas. 

Happy holidays.

 

Swapna Nelaballi

About the Author: Swapna Nelaballi

In July 2022, Swapna Nelaballi joined the Ecology Center through our Communications Fellowship program with the University of Michigan. 

"I am broadly interested in tropical-forest ecology, plant-animal interactions, conservation biology, and science storytelling. I hold a masters’ degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation. Currently, I am a PhD student at the University of Michigan.  As part of my PhD research, I am trying to unravel the complex interactions that characterize plant-frugivore networks within tropical forests. My research particularly focuses on characterizing plant-frugivore networks for large-seeded plants and deciphering the relative importance of large-bodied mutualists in the dispersal of these large-seeded plant taxa." - Swapna Nelaballi

An Equitable and Just Transition to Electric Transportation

By Sarah Hughes, Ecology Center Guest Writer

Now that electric vehicles are starting to take off, with sales doubling over the last two years and capturing 7% of the market nationally, the EV transition feels like it's finally happening. There are more models, covering a larger variety of sizes and classes, that will offer EV options that will meet the needs of more vehicle buyers. However, the higher sales price of most EVs will still make them a difficult choice for many lower- and moderate-income buyers. 

As part of the fight for making electric vehicles affordable and accessible, the Ecology Center has allied with other partners in the environmental community, the electric vehicle industry, and environmental health organizations in advocating for additional consumer purchase incentives to level the playing field. In a letter sent to Governor Whitmer, advocates urged her to take action by including new incentives in her upcoming budget proposals. Suggested incentives include new rebate programs for new, used, and leased EVs and e-bikes; funding for transitioning school buses, transit buses and commercial trucks to electric; and expanding commercial and community charging stations for travelers and apartment dwellers.

To her credit, Governor Whitmer already proposed an electric vehicle rebate program in her last budget, but that failed to get support from Republican leaders in the legislature. Her proposal included a $2,000 rebate for purchasing a new electric vehicle and a $500 rebate for at-home charging infrastructure. When paired with up to $7,500 in federal tax credits, that’s almost $10,000 off the purchase price, which in addition to up to $10,000 in maintenance and power costs saved over the vehicle's lifetime can really add up. 

But many advocates, including the Ecology Center, believe the proposal could be improved to ensure that more low- and moderate-income Michiganders can afford to purchase electric.  The letter to Governor Whitmer urges expanding the proposed rebate program to include used and leased electric vehicles, as well as offering  additional incentives for households that are enrolled in eligible public assistance programs. Additional funding proposed to transition to electric school and transit buses, as well as commercial trucks, would also benefit lower-income communities--especially those with poor air quality.  

School buses, transit buses, and other large trucks are a source of dirty diesel pollution and CO2 emissions. Highways and trucking corridors sitting close to our communities expose millions of people to dangerous levels of pollution. Each year in Michigan, in addition to the transit buses and state, local, and municipal truck fleets, more than 16,000 school buses travel 163 million miles to carry children to public schools. Converting Michigan’s fleets of public school buses, transit buses, and trucks to zero-emissions electric as the Council on Future Mobility and Electrification recommends would help clean the air and benefit the economy while alleviating pollution-related health problems that disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color.

Convenient and accessible charging infrastructure is also essential for electric vehicle adoption. EV drivers need charging stations along the roads and highways they travel and near their homes and other local destinations. Toward that end, Michigan will be receiving $110 million in federal funding over the next 5 years to support the addition of EV charging infrastructure along seven US highway and interstate routes.  Additional incentives are also available for installing EV charging stations in homes and apartment buildings, workplaces, and other public locations as part of the several EV infrastructure programs at Michigan utilities, such as Consumers Energy’s PowerMiDrive and DTE’s Charging Forward program. Access to charging along highways can eliminate range anxiety, reassuring drivers that they can comfortably travel long distances without fear of getting stuck. It’s also essential to have charging available in communities where people live because they might not have access in their home–because they live in an apartment building or other dwelling with no place for a charger. These infrastructural additions open access to people who otherwise might not be able to balance their housing needs with the charging requirements of an electric vehicle. 

But more can and still must be done.  As was noted in the Council for Future Mobility and Electrification report, the state needs a comprehensive, equitable EV plan to ensure that MI develops the charging infrastructure needed to support at least 2 million electric vehicles in 2030.  Toward that end, the Ecology Center and the Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance (MEVA) launched the MI Clean Cars 2030 campaign with the support of more than a dozen other groups.  The campaign is urging adoption of an official target to transition to electric vehicles by 2030, and to develop the comprehensive plan that would enable the state to achieve it.  According to Kareem Scales, executive director for the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP and one of the MI Clean Cars 2030 campaign supporters, “For the average commuter, one hour per day spent in traffic equates to passively smoking 180 cigarettes per year. Anyone who has to breathe in dirty air caused by gas-powered cars is paying the price for that pollution.” The need to switch to electric is clear, and Michigan must enable policies and practices that make electric accessible for lower- and moderate-income households in our community. If we dream of a future with clear bright air and Michigan leading the nation in EV technologies, electric transportation must always be for all of us.

Now that Michigan voters have elected a more pro-environment legislature, perhaps we can do more than dream of a clean electric future, but achieve one as well. 

MEVA

Our Partner MEVA: Proactive Volunteer Organization Making a Difference

The Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance (MEVA) is a grassroots collective of electric vehicle enthusiasts, an organization founded by Michiganders who are passionate about crafting a healthier and more sustainable Michigan and world. Taking together their diverse experiences in healthcare, automotive, and community organization, they see the potential for electric vehicles to provide clean air, address climate change, and energize our state’s economy. Their efforts are focused on ways to shift Michigan from gasoline to electric vehicles through legislation and other programs to ensure access to EVs for all. 

The Ecology Center and MEVA have partnered together to launch the MI Clean Cars 2030 campaign, which advocates that the state set a target to encourage 100% of new passenger vehicle sales be all-electric by 2030. The campaign outlines a comprehensive roadmap for equitably establishing EV infrastructure and increasing access to EVs through incentives, public education, job training, and more. With the support of more than a dozen health, environmental, and social justice organizations, the MI Clean Cars 2030 campaign hopes to convince state policymakers to set an ambitious EV target and create a comprehensive plan for developing the programs and policies we need to achieve it.

If you’re interested in being part of the EV movement, MEVA is looking for volunteers excited to make a difference in their community and in the world. To help in their mission of making Michigan a leader in sustainable, electric transportation, please reach out to MEVA at [email protected]

Healthy Stuff Lab Develops Rapid Screening Methods for Detecting Chemicals of Concern

What hazardous chemicals are lurking in everyday products? The government, non-profit, and private sectors are heavily invested in addressing this question as many toxic chemicals found in consumer products are increasingly being tied to adverse health impacts–from disruption of hormones, cancers, to impaired brain development and more. 

Traditional methods in place to test products for such chemicals, although precise, are expensive and time intensive. This potentially dissuades product makers, retailers, NGOs, and government agencies from large-scale testing of products. The lack of testing puts all who come in contact with or use such products at greater risks from chemical hazards.

Gillian Z. Miller, Jeff Gearhart, and colleagues from our Healthy Stuff Lab at the Ecology Center have developed testing methods to help with this conundrum.

Using an infrared analyzer, we can rapidly test a wide variety of consumer products for hormone-disrupting chemicals whilst minimizing chemical and material waste. 

This is a tool for product makers who want to ensure their products are free of hazardous chemicals, and for researchers and professionals in NGOs and allied sectors, who work on reducing exposure to chemicals that increase disease risk.

We are pleased to announce that a peer-reviewed paper describing this work has been published in the prestigious Journal of Environmental Health. 

Miller and Gearhart, “A Rapid Screening Method for Detecting Hazardous Chemicals in Consumer Products, Food Contact Materials, and Thermal Paper Receipts Using ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy,” Journal of Environmental Health (November 2022), v. 85, no. 4, p. 8-15 

We Voted to Restore Our Rights. Now It’s Time to Re-write the Future.

We woke up November 9 to a new day in Michigan. Voters had approved constitutional amendments to protect voting rights and reproductive rights – liberties under attack throughout the United States. Proposal 2 and Proposal 3 drew thousands of new voters to the polls, and voting didn’t finish on the college campuses in Ann Arbor and East Lansing until after midnight. The outpouring was the largest midterm voter turnout in Michigan history, surpassing the previous high set in 2018. When all was said and done, Michigan voters elected federal and state officials who reflect the values of the population, instead of what we’ve seen in the past, which reflected our grossly gerrymandered legislative districts. 

American history is an ongoing story of people fighting for human rights, winning their liberty, getting it stripped away, fighting again, repeating the cycle, over and over again. Black Southerners won political rights through Reconstruction after the Civil War, only to have them forcibly revoked through the Jim Crow era. The rights of women, Native Americans, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and other minorities only exist because people fought for them, and even after rights were granted, they only stayed in place after people fought to protect them.

Also this week, on the other side of the Earth, world leaders are meeting in the COP-27 round of climate negotiations to consider another right we’d previously taken for granted – the right to a livable planet. The matter is especially urgent for the tiny, low-lying Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu, which, facing immersion from rising sea levels, has called for a fossil fuel non-proliferation agreement. The threat may not be as visible in North America, but the increasing intensity of wildfires, hurricanes, and floods are waking up ordinary Americans to the perils of the climate crisis. But we will need to rise up to ward off the threat and preserve a livable planet.

In theory, Michigan bestows us that right. The state constitution declares that “the conservation and development of the natural resources of the state are hereby declared to be of paramount public concern in the interest of the health, safety and general welfare of the people.” The state’s Environmental Protection Act empowers the judiciary to prevent practices that harm the environment.

In practice, however, courts have weakened the power of the state law and undermined the reach of constitutional protection.

So, once again, it is up to us to re-write the future. We started to do that this week – statewide, through the voting rights and reproductive rights ballot proposals, both so critical to environmental health and justice. And so we did this week – in Ann Arbor, where voters overwhelmingly approved a climate proposal that funds the city’s carbon neutrality plan. And so we did this week – in Oakland County, where voters overwhelmingly approved a transit proposal that funds services for the entire county for the first time ever. 

Now that the election is over, it’s time to move boldly to preserve a livable planet where all people can thrive. It’s time to enact the MI Healthy Climate Plan to decarbonize Michigan’s economy. It’s time to protect everyone from the ravages of lead poisoning, PFAS chemicals, and plastic pollution. It’s time to prioritize environmental justice in state policy and budgets. It’s time to write the future we truly need.  

Reigning Toxics: What We Burn Is What We Breathe

By Swapna Nelaballi

Our earth’s atmosphere or ‘air’ is much more than just the oxygen we breathe. If you catapulted through it starting at the surface, you would travel through five unique layers before reaching outer space. This multi-layered shield protects, insulates, and sustains life on earth. The lowest, densest, and most chaotic layer of air, the troposphere, harbors all plant and animal life. It is the layer we call home.

So, what exactly is air? Simply put, it is a complex concoction of mostly gasses, varying amounts of water, and tiny solid particles or aerosols, held around the earth by gravity. Many of these elements occur naturally. But the air is also tainted with harmful elements known as pollutants or matter that is ‘out of place.’

Soot & Smog: The Deadly Duo

There are two types of pollutants. Primary pollutants are those that are directly released into the air from the source. Soot (also known as particulate matter) is the most prevalent primary pollutant in our air. It is made up of teeny-tiny particles released from burning fossil fuels. These microscopic airborne particles are especially dangerous, as they can penetrate the lungs and reach our bloodstream. This has severe implications for both respiratory and cardiovascular health, and in extreme cases, it causes premature death. Exposure to particulate matter also makes us more susceptible to new and emerging diseases like COVID-19. 

The other type, secondary pollutants, form when primary pollutants intermingle. For instance, smog or “bad”/ground-level ozone is formed when sunlight reacts with emissions from burning fossil fuels, and with gasses released by certain hazardous chemicals (known as VOCs) found in gasoline, paints, and many cleaning solvents. The impacts of smog can range from eye and throat irritation to lung damage. Children, senior citizens, people who work or exercise outdoors, and people with asthma, allergies, or other pre-existing health conditions are particularly at risk.

what creates bad ozone infographic
Caption: Secondary pollutants result from the intermingling of primary pollutants
Credit: Erica Bertram, The Ecology Center
AADL Summer Game Code: WECAIRABOUTIT

Death by Breath: Health Impacts of Air Pollution

Breathing in this toxic concoction takes a deadly toll, increasing our risk of disease and death. Exposure to primary and secondary pollutants has been linked to respiratory, heart, and skin diseases, dysfunction of our reproductive and central nervous system, and cancer. A recent study estimated that globally, soot (particulate matter) pollution alone causes more than 10 million premature deaths annually. To put this in perspective, as of August, 2022, the overall death toll from the novel Coronavirus is a little under 6.5 million. Another study identified pollution (including air pollution) as the ‘largest existential' threat to health. The study reports that between 2015 and 2019,  pollution was responsible for 1 in 6 six deaths worldwide, and caused more deaths than war, terrorism, malaria, HIV, TB, drugs, and alcohol!

Air pollution is also a major threat to planetary health. Some pollutants from the air are deposited onto soil, vegetation, water bodies, and buildings among other surfaces, through acid rain leading to increased environmental contamination. Exposure to such toxins causes birth defects, reproductive failure, diseases in animals, and increases the susceptibility of domestic and wild plants to pests, pathogens, and other environmental stressors.  Other air pollutants destroy the “good” ozone in the upper layer of our atmosphere, essentially perforating the shield that protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. 

Making matters worse, air quality and climate change are engaged in a deadly dance, egging each other on.  On one hand, the release of pollutants into the air changes our climate by affecting how much of the incoming sunlight is absorbed or reflected back. For example, ground-level ozone absorbs more sunlight, trapping heat, and thus warming the climate. Additionally, different types of particulate matter, whether airborne or settled, can have a warming or cooling effect on the climate. On the flip side, changes in climate worsen local air quality. Warmer temperatures, due to climate change, ramp up reactions between primary pollutants increasing levels of secondary pollutants (such as ground-level ozone) in the air.  

So, the air is rife with toxins. But, how did they get there? Pollutants infiltrate our air in many ways. While natural causes such as wildfires, dust storms, volcanic eruptions, or even rotting plant and animal matter periodically release pollutants, the primary contributor to air pollution today is human activity. Our reliance on fossil fuels, heavy industry, and modern agriculture, among other factors, has led to substantial and (more notably) a steady release of pollutants into the air.

As is the case in other afflicted countries, in the US, air pollution is most concentrated in urban areas. Here, there are many primary sources of pollution (factories, power plants, automobiles, aircrafts, etc.). Additionally, the structural design of cities exacerbates the impact by preventing polluted air from spreading out. As a result, sights of city skylines smothered by a dense, murky layer of air or smog have become all too familiar.

Clean or Dirty? Tracking an Invisible, Silent Killer

 On particularly smoggy days, it’s not hard to imagine the toll air pollution takes on our health and lives. But air pollution is not always obvious. When we look around, we do not typically see ‘air’ because our atmosphere is made up of mostly invisible elements. Similarly, most air pollutants operate in stealth mode, being invisible, colorless, odorless, and/or too small to be seen by the naked eye. Given this, how do we know if the air we are breathing is safe or not?

A nationwide monitoring network provides us with a general overview of things. Scientists at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with several federal and state agencies, use complex, very expensive sensors stationed at 4,000 locations across the country to track air pollution. These sensors record hourly or daily measurements of concentrations of six criteria pollutants.

6 air pollutants monitored by the EPA
Caption:  EPA sensors record hourly/daily levels of six key pollutants that are major causes for concern to human and planetary health
Credit: Erica Bertram, The Ecology Center

Measurements from these sensors are compared against the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) or acceptable levels of harmful pollutants in our air. These standards are set by the EPA as mandated by the Clean Air Act (1970). Based on this, the air quality for a given area is assigned an air quality index (AQI) value; a value between 0 and 500 that falls in one of six categories. Each category represented by a specific color, indicates the level of risk to human health. Simply stated, the higher the AQI value, the greater the concentration of pollutants and the greater the health risk.

air quality index infographic
Caption:  Air quality for a given area is assigned an air quality index (AQI) value that  indicates the level of risk to human health
Credit: Erica Bertram, The Ecology Center

On the surface, 4,000 monitoring stations recording hourly or daily data may seem like we’ve covered all the bases. But, believe us, when we tell you that this is still grossly inadequate! With over 11,000 neighborhoods in the US, the available air quality data is good enough to determine broadscale trends, but it may not be an accurate representation of the air quality in your neighborhood.

Leave No One Behind: Need for Addressing Environmental Inequities 

Neighborhood-level monitoring is important because the burden of air pollution is not evenly shared. Given a choice, no one wants to live next to a waste incinerator, a coal plant, an oil refinery, or any such noxious entity. Yet, millions of people do. People in these neighborhoods deal with higher exposure to pollutants and are impacted disproportionately more than others.

Historically, systems built on racist and discriminatory policies ensured that industries spewing toxic waste or choked highways were located far away from affluent white neighborhoods. More often than not, this means poor and working-class communities of color live in neighborhoods where the environment is loaded with pollutants. These communities, already overburdened by economic and health disparities, are among the most vulnerable to air pollution. Thus, monitoring air quality at the neighborhood-scale is not only a crucial public health measure, but this information is vital for educating and empowering communities who bear the brunt of the burden. However, monitoring at this scale is challenging in terms of both cost and effort.

Heat map of Michigan Census tracts ranked by environmental justice scores
Caption: A recent study by the University of Michigan, that identified “hot spots” of environmental injustice across the state of Michigan, showed that people of color in low-income Detroit neighborhoods deal with the gravest of environmental risks. Source: Brett Zeuner, Laura Grier, Delia Mayor, Paul Mohai, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. 

The Ecology Center: Supporting and Empowering At-Risk Communities

To create healthy living conditions for all residents of Detroit, we at the Ecology Center have partnered with community members to address the challenge of neighborhood-level monitoring.

According to the American Lung Association's recent ‘State of the Air’ report, alarmingly, Detroit features on two separate lists of 25 most polluted US cities; those polluted by smog (#24) and those by soot (#16). Detroit neighborhoods, with multiple sources of pollution in addition to a large transportation sector, suffer some of the worst impacts of air pollution. Adults in Detroit are hospitalized for asthma 3.7 times as often as adults in the rest of the state. Children suffering from asthma visit the ER at least 3,300 times a year. Annually, soot and smog exposure cause ~660 premature deaths, half a million missed workdays, and a million missed school days. Beyond health impacts, air pollution is an expensive crisis, costing us ~6.5 billion USD every year! 

In 2019, following decades of fighting systemic injustice, we successfully led the Breathe Free Detroit campaign, shutting down the Detroit waste incinerator. But the air in Detroit remains polluted from many other sources.

To understand where “hot-spots” of concern are currently located, we initiated a community-led air quality monitoring program. Community-based air quality monitoring is an essential tool for both awareness and advocacy. Such information is crucial to inform public policy so that emissions are cut at the source, and exposure is reduced through mitigative measures, be it improved air filtration in buildings, vegetative buffers, or campaigns compelling industries to adhere to regulatory norms. 

air quality monitors
Air quality monitors have been installed outside homes and businesses in areas near schools to provide a broader assessment of the local air quality. Additionally, volunteers have been trained to use wearable monitors and assess air quality at a finer scale.
Photo credit:  Nick Hagen

To this end, we installed 27 low-cost “Purple Air” monitors that measure particulate matter and five “Clarity” monitors that measure particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide, across the city. Additionally, in collaboration with neighborhood groups, we recruited and trained dozens of residents to wear portable “Flow2” monitors to record air quality on the go. 

We are currently working out a system for managing data generated by all of our monitors to create a single integrated map, illustrating air quality for different neighborhoods in Detroit. Additionally, we are collaborating with community-based organizations to scale up this air quality monitoring system and develop tools to sustain and support it. The long-term vision of this work is to both increase awareness about the importance of clean air, and have better policies in place that will protect our health and save lives.

CHEMICAL COCKTAILS: PET plastics leach a toxic heavy metal

By Swapna Nelaballi

PET plastics: leading the way to ‘plastification’ of our planet 

Plastic waste is a global crisis. Much of this waste never fully disappears. It simply breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, that in time end up everywhere; in our air, in our soil, in fresh- and saltwater, in plants and animals, and in us! Despite the scale of this crisis, our throwaway culture continues to ensure an uninterrupted and alarmingly growing production, usage, and (careless) disposal of plastics. If we continue business as usual, plastic production will double by 2040, and so will our problems.

PET plastic recyl
We use many types of plastics, and of these PET plastics are the most popular 
Credit: M. Malinika Source: Adobe Stock # 425526925

Of the many types of plastics, PET (for polyethylene terephthalate), or plastic #1, or polyester (in its fiber form), is among the most commonly used plastics. Each year, we produce close to one hundred million metric tons of PET, or the combined weight of close to 1,912 fully loaded Titanics! Since its invention in the 1940s, PET quickly gained superstar status among plastics, as a cheap (to purchase), lightweight material, with a huge variety of uses, from the production of single-use plastic products like water and soda bottles, to polyester clothing, to cuddly toys. 

Since PET is commonly marketed as highly recyclable, BPA-free and “safe,” one might wonder what all the hoopla is about?

Producing virgin (new) PET to meet our insatiable demand accrues huge environmental costs. Before any PET product reaches us, it has already taken a toll on our environment; by using large quantities of non-renewable resources (fossil fuels), in an energy-guzzling process that spews out greenhouse gasses and other hazardous by-products. And then there’s what happens once you toss them away. The highly recyclable PET is rarely recycled. Only about 11% (including polyester) is recycled, while the rest, weighing about 1700 fully loaded Titanics,  is burned, littered, or, most often, landfilled.

PET plastic
Polyester clothing and plastic bottles dominate PET use
Infographic source: page 23 Defend Our Health Report

Irrespective of what our behavior may suggest, we seem to at least acknowledge the fact that PET waste is bad for our planet and for us. But, another equally worrisome PET problem continues to be swept under the rug.

Bleeding Toxics: More than Just a Waste Problem

Toxic chemicals escaping from plastics into our environment is old news; remember our infamous friend BPA. As the world disputed the risks of BPA, the industry quickly replaced BPA with “BPA-free” alternatives that were found to be “just as bad.” Amidst all this chatter about BPA and its siblings, whispers of yet another highly toxic chemical went unheard. 

Over 15 years ago, we were told that PET plastics leach (or release) a toxic heavy metal called antimony (Sb). Antimony (specifically antimony trioxide) is used as the dominant catalyst to hasten the process of producing PET plastic. However, post production, some antimony remains in the plastic product, with the potential to enter into the food and drinks it holds, and the environment. Since then, there has been growing evidence in support of this finding. Chronic exposure to antimony compounds may lead to serious health issues including cancer, heart, liver and kidney problems. 

But, unlike the BPA saga, these findings didn’t take the consumer world by storm, few were up in arms, and “antimony-free” PET plastics didn’t flood the market. Instead, the powerful plastics lobby left no stone unturned to dispel concerns surrounding antimony, claiming that levels in most beverage brands that use PET plastic packaging were negligible if not undetectable, and did not pose a risk to human health. And, PET plastics continue to be marketed as “safe.” 

But, do not be blinded by marketing tactics, warns a recent study by our partners at Defend Our Health

Think before you drink: toxic brews within PET plastic bottles

Defend Our Health, a non-profit organization looking into the impacts of petrochemical plastics on public health, commissioned an independent study earlier this year to check antimony concentrations in popular beverages. The organization purchased PET plastic-bottled beverages from 20 leading brands including Pepsi and Coca-Cola. These were then shipped off to two separate testing facilities, including our Healthy Stuff Lab,  at the Ecology Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan, to check for antimony concentrations. While Vanguard Labs in Olympia, Washington, tested the beverage and bottles separately for antimony; we at the Ecology Center tested bottles from 14 of the 20 brands using a different methodology

A detailed study report was made publicly available in July 2022. The findings are alarming. In 40% of the beverages, antimony levels in the drink itself exceeded 1 part per billion (ppb); the limit set by the California public health goal for antimony in drinking water. Of the tested beverages, the highest antimony concentrations were found in Campbell Soup Company’s V8 Juice (3.45 ppb), Coca Cola regular soda (2.20 ppb), and PepsiCo’s Gatorade Blue Raspberry (1.78 ppb). The entire list may be viewed here. Chronic exposure to such concentrations can cause liver damage and increases our risk of organ toxicity, heart disease, and cancer.

Coming to the PET plastic itself, antimony concentrations in the bottles were between 216-321 parts per million (ppm), which is worrisome as PET plastic continues to leach antimony when exposed to heat, light, soda, juice, or when it is stored for long periods of time. 

The study also highlighted the fact that a large proportion (over 60%) of PET goes into manufacturing polyester-based textiles, largely catering to the extremely wasteful ‘fast fashion’ industry that churns out new clothing collections much more frequently than clothes are actually worn before being thrown away.  Less than 1% of polyester clothing is recycled! Like PET plastic packaging, polyester clothing releases antimony that can be orally ingested, absorbed by our skin, and inhaled from indoor and outdoor air.

Further, like in most cases of environmental contamination, the risk to health from antimony exposure is disproportionately borne by certain groups. Young children are particularly at risk, given their behavior of putting their hands, clothing, and toys in their mouths, and are routinely overexposed to unsafe levels of antimony. As per Defend Our Health’s calculations, young children, especially babies and toddlers, are exposed to almost three times more antimony (per bodyweight) than are adults in the US. 

People of color from low income neighborhoods also face a greater health risk from higher levels of exposure to antimony. Pollution-spewing petrochemical plastic manufacturing plants are most often located in close proximity to communities of color and lower-income neighborhoods that are already dealing with environmental contamination from many other sources. 

Lastly, antimony is just one of many reasons why virgin PET plastic production, usage and disposal, is deleterious. More than 10,000 chemicals are involved in producing plastics. Of these, 24% including antimony are known to be harmful to humans and planetary health. But, we know next to nothing about the safety of a whopping 39% of the remaining chemicals.

There is little doubt that PET plastics are unsafe, unjust, and unsustainable. But, production continues unabated, and, not-so-shockingly, petrochemical plastic industries are instead pouring billions of dollars into constructing new plants, to pump out a higher volume of plastics. 

The proposed Corpus Christi Polymers plant in Texas, when operational, will be the largest PET plant in the world that will produce 1.1 million tons per year, increasing the production of PET plastics in the US by 25%. A second plant is proposed for the area of Louisiana known as “cancer alley.” If this plan comes to fruition, this plant would produce 1.6 million tons of mono-ethylene glycol or MEG; an essential chemical that is used in the production of 80% PET plastics and polyester. Production of MEG is known to release cancer-causing chemicals into the environment.

Drastic times call for drastic measures

If we were to completely stop producing plastic today, we will still be left with an insurmountable challenge: the mammoth task of dealing with 5000 million tons (as of 2015) of plastic waste, entombed in landfills. Do we really need to add to the challenge? 

One way out of this conundrum is to change the way we produce PET plastics, as advocated by Defend Our Health. The report lists several measures that involve phasing out production of virgin PET plastics, and replacing them with recycled and/or 100% non-toxic biobased PET.  This will take time, effort, and sustained advocacy. But it is possible. 

In the meantime, it is more important to (immediately) stop the use of toxic chemicals such as antimony. Defend Our Health has conducted assessments of alternatives that could be used as catalysts in PET production instead of antimony. They found that safer, effective, and economically viable options are available. With better alternatives at hand, PET plastic manufacturers now have no reason to continue business-as-usual whilst poisoning us and our environment with deadly toxins. It is time for those of us with agency to fervently advocate for better practices, compelling major brands to end their use of toxic plastics. 

Join the fight to curb plastic pollution.

Driving away the devil under the hood: Towards 100% electric road transportation for Michigan

By Swapna Nelaballi

The devil under the hood = trouble in the air

It's hard to imagine modern life without sedans, SUVs, pickups, buses, or trucks. We have built our nation to be reliant on these  machines, from boosting our economy to helping us maintain our social connections. Yet, under their hoods, skulks a dangerous killer; an oil burning engine that poisons our air, water, and lungs. And, like other sinister beings, this killer preys on the most vulnerable; children, the elderly, the poor, and people of color, face the greatest risk from breathing air laden with soot, smog, and other toxic chemicals.

Motor vehicle pollution increases our risk of heart disease, asthma, impaired lung function, respiratory illness, cancer, and premature death. In 2015, ~385,000 premature deaths worldwide were caused by soot and smog from motor vehicle emissions. And 70% of these deaths occurred in four countries with the largest vehicle markets, including the US. Each year, more than 20,000 Americans die prematurely from tailpipe pollution, and millions more are affected by respiratory illnesses, lost work days, and lost school days.

Exhaust from tailpipes is also the leading source of climate pollution in the US. In 2020, 27% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the US were produced by motor vehicles. Between 1990 & 2019, total GHG emissions from the transportation sector, surpassed emissions from all other sectors!

Michigan, the auto industry leader, has the highest auto production compared to any other state. Seventeen percent of production in the US happens here. Annually, a whopping 12 billion dollars are spent on research and development to support the auto industry. But, this growing transportation sector is also among the top sources of air pollution in Michigan, especially in Detroit and surrounding areas.

A significant number of Detroit residents live, and a large number of public schools are located, adjacent to choked roadways and large industries. Thus, while worrisome, it is no surprise that Detroit features on two separate lists of 25 most polluted US cities; those polluted by smog (#24) and those by soot (#16), as per the American Lung Association's recent ‘State of the Air’ report. The combined impact of pollution from point (industries) and mobile (vehicles) sources in this area, causes 721 premature deaths, 1500 hospitalizations, 500000 days of missed work, and more than 990,000 days of missed school, and costs the state 660 million dollars each year!

Tailpipe emissions from fuel burning vehicles. Photo source: AdobeStock_18298693
Tailpipe emissions from oil burning vehicles are detrimental to both human and environmental health. Photo source: AdobeStock_18298693

All is not lost

We can make a dent in these terrible numbers. For that, first, we must do away with the devil under the hood. We must wean off vehicles spewing toxic chemicals, to achieve Michigan’s Healthy Climate Plan (MIHCP) goals, for a greener future, where every child, grandparent, and Michigander can breathe clean air. One hundred percent electrification of road transport, powered by clean energy, is the best, most viable, and scalable solution to achieve this goal.

Accelerating the transition from industrial age tech to zero-emission electric vehicles (EVs), will positively impact every breath we take. EVs will help end tailpipe pollution and reduce - billions of tons of harmful emissions, disease burden, and health disparities, and will save hundreds of lives every year. High climate costs (amounting to trillions of dollars) from extracting and burning fossil fuels can also be avoided. Instead, transitioning to EVs can boost our economy, by creating new investment opportunities, and millions of job opportunities in manufacturing, developing and maintaining charging infrastructure, and other required services.

No wonder, consumers across the US are eager for this transition to happen. A 2019 survey of prospective buyers across regions and income groups, showed that 63% were interested in buying EVs. It is time for the auto industry to meet this demand. Some headway has been made with leading automakers committing to “all-electric line-ups” and increasing investments in developing new models of electric vehicles, many of which will be made here in Michigan.  But it is time to pick up the pace and Michigan, as the Motor City state, must lead the way.

We at the Ecology Center, in collaboration with MEVA and with support from other leading environmental and health organizations, are advocating for better EV-friendly policies in Michigan, and a speedy transition to EVs. We are encouraging the state to adopt a tangible goal for this transition i.e., achieve 100% EV sales by 2030, and develop a practical and comprehensive roadmap to help us get there. This is critical for Michigan to achieve its healthy climate goals and still maintain its position as the auto industry leader. Please visit our MI Clean Cars 2030 campaign page and join our fight for a healthier Michigan. 

A Climate Victory Diluted by the Inequity It Will Perpetuate

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

In early August, most of us had written off the Biden administration's plans for a Democrat-led climate bill. However, in a surprising turn of events, Senate leader Chuck Schumer struck a seemingly out-of-reach deal with Senator Joe Manchin to pass the first significant climate bill in US history. 

It had been 41 years since the US Congress held its first hearings about “global warming,” and 25 years since  the Kyoto Protocol was approved, committing the nations of the world to address the climate crisis.  For decades, the fossil fuel industry’s stranglehold on US politics kept action at bay.

But over the past decade, the climate and climate justice movements have mobilized millions of people, all over the world, to fight for change.  We elevated the profile of this issue to the highest levels in virtually every sector of the economy, every aspect of our culture, and in one of the US’ two major political parties.  Congress had failed to pass climate legislation dozens of times over the past decades.  Without the mass mobilization of the climate movements, the Schumer-Manchin bill would never have seen the light of day.

The Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law on August 16, 2022, committing $369 billion toward climate emission reduction efforts.

To win Joe Manchin’s vote, however, Democrats accepted major provisions to expand fossil fuel infrastructure and sell out marginalized communities.  The concessions make this historic achievement more than bitter, even painful. It reminds us that something can be monumentally good and bad, at the same time.  

What's monumentally good about it? 

The IRA's climate gains fall into six key areas: clean electricity, clean transportation, clean buildings, clean manufacturing and industrial decarbonization, climate-smart agriculture & forestry, and conservation, environmental and climate justice. 

Through tax credits, consumer rebates, incentive programs, supportive policies, and investments:

  • Solar and wind power will be even more accessible and affordable; 
  • Homes and buildings will be more energy efficient and increasingly electrified; 
  • Cars, trucks, and transportation systems will create less pollution and fewer carbon emissions; 
  • Agriculture will become more sustainable and less carbon-emitting; 
  • Manufacturing and big industries will become less carbon-intensive. 

The Inflation Reduction Act will go a long way toward achieving the US goal of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gasses by 2030 and, based on several analyses,  will: 

"Without a doubt, the IRA is the biggest U.S. investment to date in addressing the existential threat of our current climate crisis and comes at a moment when most climate advocates had given up hope," said Charles Griffith, Ecology Center Climate and Energy Director. "While there is still much work to meet our emissions reduction goals--likely much of it at the state and local level--this breakthrough legislation restores U.S. climate leadership and gives us a fighting chance at tackling the climate crisis." 

What's monumentally bad? 

The IRA's concessions to fossil fuel interests and pipeline operators mean that people will continue to suffer. Neighborhoods of frontline and predominantly BIPOC communities who have borne the brunt of air and water pollution caused by the fossil fuel industry, often referred to as sacrifice zones, will continue to endure injustice. 

Specific concessions include a mandate for offshore oil lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska and requirements tying offshore renewable energy developments to moving forward on federal oil and gas leases. These requirements expand opportunities for the oil and gas industry at the very moment science demands us to  rapidly move away from oil and gas. Furthermore, long-suffering communities – along the Gulf Coast, in northern Alaska, and throughout the country near pipelines, refineries, and other facilities – should not be forced to bear the insults to their health and environment.   

While the IRA incentivizes a range of cleaner, low-carbon energy sources and technologies, it does little to regulate oil, gas, and coal.  Its fossil fuel provisions actually do the opposite, perpetuating fossil-fuel sacrifice zones. In a final effort to pass the act, Senator Schumer also agreed to support a separate side-deal to strip environmental protections, jeopardize public health, and fast-track fossil fuel projects.

"We can't separate climate justice from climate action. Doing that will only perpetuate existing injustices and further harm communities that are already overburdened. This is a critical time and an important opportunity to take a stand for justice," said Kathryn Savoie, Ecology Center Director of Equity and Environmental Justice.

The Ecology Center has signed on to letters organized by our environmental justice partners calling on President Biden to take executive action to crack down on fossil fuels. There is still time to fight the Manchin-Schumer side-deal. Biden should declare a climate emergency, and Congress should block all efforts to bolster the antiquated and damaging fossil fuel industry. 

To put it all in context, consider this:  the Inflation Reduction Act devotes only 3% as much money to fighting the climate crisis as the original Green New Deal proposal.  It is less than one-third the size of President Biden’s Build Back Better proposal, which the House of Representatives passed last year.  Yet it makes an unprecedented investment in clean energy, when we need it the most.

For all of us who’ve been fighting for decades to get our leaders to address the climate crisis, it is a historic moment.  We are getting nowhere close to what we asked for, but we are getting so much more than seemed possible one month ago.  The Inflation Reduction Act will jump-start the clean energy transition in the United States, but we’re still going to need to fight for more, and soon, to meet the demands of Nature and our fast-dwindling carbon budget.

We are also going to need to fight the Manchin side-deal, to protect environmental laws and regulations that give communities a small measure of input about the siting and expansion of new pipelines and oil and gas developments. To reach the vision of a just and thriving clean energy economy, it will take even bigger and stronger climate justice activism, along with stronger and more decisive climate leadership to eliminate sacrifice zones so that ALL people benefit.

 

Wondering What a World Without the EPA’s Ability to Regulate Will Look Like? Rewind to the Burning Rivers of the 1970s.

Yesterday, in West Virginia vs. the EPA, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that threatens planetary health and the ability of our government to protect the health and safety of all Americans. 

The disheartening ruling was issued not even a week after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, an act that repealed the fundamental right to abortion. Millions of Americans' lost autonomy over their own bodies and lives last week. This decision will disproportionately affect those already burdened by social and environmental threats. Far worse, it sent a resounding message to women and transgender people around the country: you are not equal. Read our statement about the overturn of Roe vs. Wade and our commitment to reproductive justice here.

As an organization rooted in the democratic principles of equity and justice, without which a safe and healthy environment is not possible, we are deeply shaken by and condemn both decisions. 

In the West Virginia vs. EPA decision, Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch’s statement notes that the Court is not appointing itself the decision-maker on climate policy and is instead acknowledging that, under our Constitution, the people’s elected representatives in Congress are the decision makers. However, this is a knowing shift to a dysfunctional Congress that has continually demonstrated its inability to govern. 

This dysfunction is how we got here in the first place: The ruling was based on a 2009 lawsuit between the state of West Virginia and the EPA, springing from the implementation of the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan. Unable to move any climate change policies through Congress nor ratify any international climate action treaties, the Obama administration relied on the statutory authority of the EPA to set limits on how much carbon each state could emit from their power plants. 

The Supreme Court’s decision to limit the EPA’s regulatory authority comes just after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released yet another dire warning about our failure to act, noting "without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach." This while we see the impacts of climate change all around us: The American West is again experiencing record-breaking droughts, with people begging for showers at neighbor's houses on Craigslist, as infectious diseases rapidly rise and heat waves smash records across the globe. 

Something more destructive rings true, too: the two Supreme Court decisions feel connected—the control of women's bodies by a predominantly white and male institution and the hamstringing of the federal regulation of business, in this case the almost exclusively white and male-controlled energy sector, to continue pillaging the Earth's resources unchecked. Were these decisions about Constitutional rights or simply about maintaining a power structure threatened by the movement toward equity and justice for people and the planet? We feel it is the latter. 

Our democracy, equality, and planet are in peril. Nonetheless, America has been here before and we know exactly what we need to do. We must continue to organize. Together, we have altered the course of history in our community, region, and the world.We must do it again. 

America has a beleaguered history of colonialism, genocide, and building power by enslaving peoples, but we also have a history of democracy, equality and justice for all. These ideals are being put to the test. Now must be the time when we embrace these principles, at last, because when it comes to the climate crisis, the clock is running out. 

The Michigan Healthy Climate Plan Solidifies Michigan at the Forefront of Clean Energy

After a year of Workgroup and Council meetings, listening sessions, and stakeholder convenings, Michigan’s Governor Whitmer and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has now released the MI Healthy Climate Plan. The plan contains recommendations to ensure a greener, healthier Michigan, and is a bold step towards a carbon-neutral future. 

Thanks to the efforts of our many partners and supporters, as well as members of the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions, EGLE made a number of improvements to the draft plan it released for public comment in January.  The final MI Healthy Climate Plan contains important improvements to environmental justice commitments, prioritizing the needs of vulnerable communities who are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis. The plan mandates that at least 40% of state-wide funding for climate and water infrastructure go directly to BIPOC and low-income Michiganders. The updated plan also provides much-needed relief for residents who are energy-insecure, limiting household energy expenditures to 6% of annual income for low-income households. Critically, these policy measures will be enacted in partnership with devoted community leaders who know their neighbors’ unique challenges and needs best. 

The updated MI Healthy Climate Plan also:

  • makes much-needed provisions for an earlier phase-out of coal and a swifter statewide transition to clean energy,
  • aims to generate 60% of Michigan’s energy from renewable sources and eliminate the use of coal by 2030,
  • seeks to develop the grid and charging infrastructure to support 2 million electric vehicles by 2030,
  • calls for a 15% annual increase in access to public transit and other clean mobility options across the state,
  • strengthens recommendations to reduce carbon emissions from buildings, shifting the state’s building stock to cleaner energy sources, increasing energy efficiency, and lowering costs for Michigan families, and
  • sets a goal of tripling the state’s recycling rate to 45% and cutting food waste in half by 2030.

The MI Healthy Climate Plan solidifies Michigan’s role at the forefront of the clean energy and electrification transition, making the case that we can combat climate change, address equity and advance economic opportunity for all Michiganders at the same time. The plan proposes to work with utility companies, automakers and many other key stakeholders to grow a clean energy sector that is already responsible for adding over 100,000 jobs and $5 billion of economic activity in the state’s economy every year. Job training and additional support for workers that might be impacted will also help to ensure a more just transition that works for the planet and for people.

Charles Griffith, Climate & Energy Director at the Ecology Center and a co-chair of the Transportation and Mobility Workgroup for the Council on Climate Solutions, knows what it took to draft the MI Healthy Climate Plan policy recommendations—and what it’ll take to implement them:  “The final MI Healthy Climate Plan sets a solid foundation for the state to achieve carbon-neutrality while addressing environmental inequities, and we should take a well-deserved moment to celebrate this achievement,” says Griffith. “But now the real work begins. The Council, EGLE and the Whitmer administration will need to continue to engage the public and convene stakeholders to pursue implementation of the plan’s recommendations and policies, as well as work to address gaps and come up with additional solutions.”