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It turns out eliminating the paper or plastic question through plastic bag regulation is effectively reducing the number of bags found in shoreline litter across the United States. A new analysis of shoreline cleanup data finds that areas with plastic bag bans or consumer fees have fewer bags turning up in their litter. The research offers some of the strongest evidence yet that regulating plastic bag use makes a difference in reducing the amount of plastic waste in marine ecosystems. A heightened threat to marine wildlife We find, largely, that all the regulations do show a decrease in plastic bag litter as a share of total litter on these shores, says Kimberly Oremus, co-author of the research paper and an assistant professor of marine science and policy at the University of Delaware. The total reduction ranged between 25% and 47%, the study found. About 20 metric tons of plastic end up in the environment each year, estimates the International Union for Conservation of Naturethat amounts to over 2.4 kilograms of plastic for each person on Earth. Plastic bags are particularly prevalent in marine ecosystems. They are very difficult to recycle and, because they are lightweight and have a large surface area for wind to catch, they blow out of the trash and into the environment at higher rates than other plastic items, says Erin Murphy, the ocean plastics science and research manager at the environmental advocacy nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, who was not involved in the research. She added that in 2024 alone, the conservancys International Coastal Cleanup volunteers gathered up more than a million plastic bags. In addition to getting into the environment at high rates, plastic bags also pose a heightened threat to marine wildlife. Wildlife can become entangled in or smothered by these bags or can mistake them for food, like jellyfish, a favorite among many species. These interactions with plastic can lead to the deaths of endangered and common animals alike and can even contribute to broader population declines. Counting the plastic bags One big challenge in studying the effects and regulations of plastics is actually measuring this pollutant in the environment, says Anna Papp, co-author of the research paper. To overcome this challenge, the study used crowd-funded data from beach cleanups. The data was collected by the Ocean Conservancy as part of their Trash Information and Data for Education and Solutions (TIDES) project. Nearly 19 million people have participated in the data collection worldwide. The study also examined plastic bag policies at various geographical scales between 2017 and 2023. The earliest plastic bag policies in the U.S. were implemented around 2007, researchers say, but an uptick in the mid-2010s more directly led to the policies analyzed in the study. While the data provides insight into how the share of plastic bags found among shoreline litter has changed due to policy measures, an important caveat remains: Plastic litter has been increasing overall. Plastic production doubled from 234 million to 460 million tons between 2000 and 2019and without mitigation, it is only expected to rise, according to a recent report from the French-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Some regulations are better than others Still, the researchers noted that not all regulations worked equally well. Total bans and consumer fees resulted in greater decreases than partial bans, which still allow businesses to use thicker, potentially reusable plastic bags. The researchers also found that regulation was most effective in places that had a high baseline of plastic bag litter before the bans or fees went into place. The study data seems to indicate that consumer fees were the most effective option for mitigating plastic bag litter, though the paper’s authors say more research is needed to confirm this finding. These policies are effective, but theyre not a panacea for all plastic litter, Oremus said. Anyone whos looking at regulations for plastic broadly needs to think beyond just the consumption side of plastic.
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If your anxiety before a big test or a high-stakes presentation has ever kept you up at night, you can rest easier knowing that scientists are trying to get to the bottom of matters. A new study published this month in The Journal of Neuroscience explores how stress interferes with sleep, causing cascading negative effects on memory and other cognitive processes. By pinpointing the specific neural mechanisms involved in stress-related memory problems and sleep disruptions, scientists hope to figure out stress-zapping treatments in the future. A group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicines Chronobiology and Sleep Institute simulated human stress in lab mice, restraining the animals so they couldnt move. They then observed the animals neural activity while they slept and gave the mice a spatial memory test. Much like a human who gets stressed out before a big test, the mice slept poorly and showed memory deficits. The researchers went on to simulate the effects of the stress scenario without actually restraining the mice. By activating neurons that release the stress hormone corticotropin in a specific part of the hypothalamus known as the paraventricular nucleus, the research team stressed out the mice and later observed the same sleep and memory issues as if the animals had actually been restrained. When they blocked the same stress hormone-releasing neurons during the stress-inducing event, the mice slept a little better and had significantly less trouble during their spatial memory testa hopeful clue in helping to understand how to mitigate the problems that stress creates in the human brain. The researchers called the findings on the pathways of corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons in that region of the hypothalamus an important step toward improving sleep and ameliorating cognitive deficits associated with stress-related disordersa conclusion that anyone tired of having that one same stress dream can definitely get behind.
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Astroworld is back in the news, and social media has some thoughts. In November 2021, a deadly crowd surge at Travis Scotts Astroworld music festival claimed the lives of 10 people. The then-annual event, held in the rappers hometown of Houston, became one of the worst concert tragedies in U.S. history. Now its the subject of the new Netflix documentary Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy. With renewed interest in the incident, survivors have taken to social media to share their own footage from the event. Only if I knew bro, one attendee posted on TikTok over footage of himself in the crowd. The audio accompanying the clip is taken from the documentary: It started getting pretty hectic, one survivor says. Im like, Oh my god, I cant take a deep breath, adds another. @nnsquad4 #viralvideo #fyp #astroworld astroworld – Mi$$ing (-.-)Zzz Since everyone else is sharing their Astroworld experience, another TikTok user wrote in the caption of a clip, which shows him tightly packed in the crowd as Scott performs. Not too long after this I got bumped into due to the crowd swaying and ended up falling on top of someone in the fetal position, he wrote. We ended up getting out but man it was a struggle. In other horrifying footage, the panicked audience can be heard calling for help. Ive never posted this video before, rest in peace to all innocent lives lost, the caption reads over the video. @adammendozaa In the moment I didnt know what else to do, so I just got out of that spot for the rest of the concert. After watching the documentary I am very grateful to still be here today. #travisscott #astroworld #fyp #concerts original sound – Adam Mendoza Even before Scott took the stage, the crowd seemed to sense something was wrong. We are gonna die, one attendee filming the unsafe conditions jokes in a clip that now has 10.3 million views. Saying this as a joke but on the inside this was a real feeling, she wrote in the closed captions. This about to be bad when it starts, another can be heard saying. Bro literally called it, the captions add. @goomba2105 @Joe Geesbreght This documentary is about to be wild. #astroworld #travisscott original sound – Zach I believe Astroworld 2021 was not an accident, crowd safety expert Scott Davidson says in the new documentary. It was an inevitability due to the lack of foresight and the abandonment of basic safety protocols. Nearly 5,000 people were injured as a result of the crush. The Netflix documentary, which premiered on June 10, features interviews with several survivors. In total, 10 people died: Axel Acosta, Danish Baig, Rudy Pea, Madison Dubiski, Franco Patio, Jacob Jurinek, John Hilgert, Bharti Shahani, Brianna Rodriguez, and Ezra Blount. Blount was just 9 years old. The cause of death for all 10 victims was compression asphyxiation.
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