No Lake Is Safe From Microplastics

We all need to examine the amount of plastic we purchase, and figure how we can reduce the plastic we are exposed to and disperse into our environment.

Plastic is harming our health and our environment.

By Mary Koseth and Katelynn Rolfes

From the Minnesota Reformer

Microplastics have become a significant environmental concern across the world due to their widespread presence in various ecosystems, potential harm to wildlife and marine life, and the uncertainty surrounding their long-term effects on human health.

This summer, concerned citizens across Minnesota worked with staff from Environment Minnesota Research & Policy Center to test 40 Minnesota lakes for microplastics.

When we analyzed the water samples the results were clear: No Minnesota lake is safe from microplastics.

Last week, Environment Minnesota Research & Policy Center released a report, Microplastic in Minnesota: A Survey of our “10,000 Lakes.

The report presents the test results, from the northern coast of Lake Superior to the wouthwest corner Minnesota, and includes recommendations to tackle the problem. In our citizen-science research project, the 40 samples were filtered using a funnel, flask and filters which had a pore size of 0.45 microns. The goal was to capture any tiny bits of plastic that were tough to spot with only our eyes. The types of plastic we searched for were microfibers, films, fragments and microbeads. We found all of these types save for microbeads, commonly found in beauty products prior to their banning in 2015.

The results of this survey should set off alarm bells for Minnesotans who love our lakes. Minnesota’s waterways are a source of peace for people, a critical habitat for wildlife, and part of our state’s identity.

Our report underscores that microplastic pollution is not an “over there” problem. It’s a “right here” problem that none of us can afford to ignore. But fortunately for us, this isn’t a hopeless situation, and there are many ways we can take action. As individuals, as community members, as whole nations, we can uphold human and environmental health and justice with our creative ideas and bold visions. Everyone has something to offer. When it comes to microplastic pollution, it’s all hands on deck.

The report outlines a broad range of various ways to tackle the problem. These include fighting fast fashion and excess textile waste, and changing Minnesota law to allow local governments to restrict single-use plastics like plastic bags.

We need to take a lot of steps to protect our lakes and health from microplastic pollution, but to start, we need to move away from single use plastics. Nothing we use for a few minutes should be able to pollute our environment for hundreds of years.

https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/10/22/our-survey-found-microplastics-in-all-40-minnesota-waterways-we-tested/?emci=90c47a06-5daf-f011-8e61-6045bded8ba4&emdi=51ed253d-5eaf-f011-8e61-6045bded8ba4&ceid=579931

Halloween Fun

Halloween is a day that is looked forward and cherished by many.

It is also a day that brings lots of extra waste- extra plastic and waste through costumes and decorations. What if we try to reduce so much waste and use what we have?

Instead of buying so much plastic waste maybe make ghosts out of old sheets or make a scarecrow out of old clothes and save money, too

Embrace Halloween as a day to be creative.

Halloween can be a creative time to decorate and create a costume. I look forward to the creative thinking that come to my door. Being creative is more fun!

The hardest part of a plastic-free holiday is finding plastic-free candy, How about apples or tangerines?

Here are some good candy tips tips from Beyond Plastic: Pick plastic-free packages. If you need to stick to packaged candies, there are some options that come wrapped in foil or small thin cardboard boxes. Candies like Dots, Milk Duds, and Junior Mints come in small cardboard boxes, Tootsie Rolls and other fruit chews and Dubble Bubble come wrapped in paper, and there are many small Halloween-themed chocolates that come wrapped in foil that, at least in theory, could be collected and recycled.

Instead of buying a new costume, consider setting up a costume swap party with friends (see some tips here) or creating a homemade costume where face paint replaces a plastic mask. Perhaps there is even the option to rent a costume for the night.

For decorations, look around your home and in nature to see what can be upcycled to help set the scene for Halloween. Cardboard boxes could easily be made into tombstone decorations. String or rope can create thick spider webs. If you are wanting to purchase decor, consider looking for items that will last for several Halloweens.

What about choosing real pumpkins over plastic versions? Not only can you carve how you want, you can roast the seeds. And when done, the pumpkin can be turned into soup or cut into pieces to decompose in a garden or composted.

This year let’s make the Halloween treat a reduction in waste. Here are some good ideas from Beyond Plastic

What are your ideas to reduce waste?

Zero Waste Fest

I wanted to share an invite to Zero Waste Fest on Saturday, October 11 at Burroughs Community School in Minneapolis. It’s a free, all-day community event with panels, food, music, kid’s activities, and lots of hands-on ways to get involved in building a future without waste. Zero Waste Fest — MN Zero Waste Coalition

The day runs from 10am to 4pm and includes:

Inspiring panels on:
- Building a Zero Waste Future in Minnesota
- Plastic is a Justice Issue: Fighting Pollution from Production to Disposal
- From Throwaway to Reuse: Reclaiming Culture, Creating Systems
Tabling from organizations around MN supporting zero waste
Clothing swaps and mending
Food, art, and music!

It’s free and open to everyone. I’d love for you to join us and help spread the word!

You can RSVP here

Healing the Earth

What a beautiful story!

Beautiful Pollinator Plants

Sun Day/Peace

A Tribute to The International Day of Peace. Please Live Peace, Be Peace, Push Peace, Vote for Peace and Meditate or pray for Peace. These wars in Ukraine and Gaza just can’t continue!

Last night I had the Strangest Dreem by Ed McCurdy

Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war

I dreamed I saw a mighty room
The room was filled with men
And the paper they were signing said
They’d never fight again

And when the papers all were signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful prayers were prayed

And the people in the streets below
Were dancing round and round
And guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground

Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war

Sun Day

Sun Day is a day of action on September 21, 2025, celebrating solar and wind power, and the movement to leave fossil fuels behind. Solar energy is now the cheapest source of power on the planet – and gives us a chance to actually do something about the climate crisis. But fossil fuel billionaires are doing everything they can to shut it down. We will build, rally, sing, and come together in the communities that we need to get laws changed and work done.

What You Should Know

About Plastic

Every year the countries of the world produce more plastic, and there is no end in sight. Production. of plastic keeps growing.

The list below is composed by the Plastic Pollution Coalition. Let’s work every day to reduce our consumption of plastic. Never use plastic utensils, plastic bags or straws

Plastic never goes away. It doesn’t break down; it only breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces. These microplastics and nanoplastics are harmful and are everywhere now, including in our bodies.
Plastic pollutes the environment, wildlife, and people.
Plastic is not safe. Plastic leaches toxic chemicals and sheds plastic particles at all stages of its existence.
Plastic especially harms communities living near petrochemical and plastic infrastructure.
The more plastic companies make and we use, the more we contribute to pollution and climate change.
Plastic was not designed to be recycled, and most plastic does not get recycled in the way we’ve been led by industry to believe.
To solve the plastic pollution crisis, industries must stop producing so much plastic. Instead of single-use plastics, we need to use nontoxic reuse and refill systems and regenerative materials.
Taking action on an individual level, using less plastic, and demanding policy action to hold producers accountable can help support the systemic changes to shift away from society’s reliance on plastics.

1. Ernie Mundell, “You might inhale 68,000 microplastics per day,” United Press International, July 31, 2025.
2. Sharon Udasin, “Humans may be inhaling 100 times more microplastics than previously assumed, scientists warn,” The Hill, July 30, 2025.
3. Yue Li, Le Tao, Qiong Wang, Fengbang Wang, Gang Li and Maoyong Song, “Potential Health Impact of Microplastics: A Review of Environmental Distribution, Human Exposure, and Toxic Effects,” Environment & Health, August 10, 2023.
4. Julia Shumway, “Oregon’s Bynum, Merkley and Florida Republicans target microplastics with new bill,” Oregon Capital Chronicle, July 17, 2025.

Make People Happy

“I want to make people smile”

An eight year old boy in Ohio has a complement stand. His goal is to make people smile. Read about it below.

https://replica.startribune.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=9eacb446-7c71-4386-852d-84b429bef9e1

Give complements or just smile on your walk today. Our world needs a smile.

Enjoy the beauty of our earth.

Smile

Earth Overshoot

On July 24, we had used all the resources that the Earth can generate in a year. We are using more resources than we can replace, or living on borrowed time.
The day we want to reach is December 31.

How can we use ;ess resources

From the Carbon Almanac. On July 24 we hit Earth Overshoot Day for 2025. Earth Overshoot Day is noted every year and the date is announced on World Environment Day. It marks the day when “humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services … exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year”. Global Footprint Network, a research organization focused on the operation of the human economy within the Earth’s ecological limits, hosts and calculates when Earth Overshoot Day will occur, with this year showing that humanity is using the planet’s resources 80% faster than ecosystems can regenerate. July 24 is the earliest in the year that Earth Overshoot Day has fallen, with past dates going back to 1971. In those 54 years, humanity reached its overshoot day on December 31 once, in 1972.

Calculations for overshoot day are based on the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, and this year’s calculations revealed that due to the ocean’s reduced capacity to store carbon, an increase in per capita Footprint and a reduced per capita biocapacity, Earth Overshoot Day fell eight days earlier than it did in 2024. In addition to Earth Overshoot Day, Country Overshoot Days are also calculated each year, seen here. These dates represent when the planet’s ecological resource budget would be used up if every place on Earth consumed at the same level as residents in that particular country.

Credit: Global Footprint Network 2025, www.overshootday.org and www.footprintnetwork.org.

A campaign working to reduce the strain on the Earth’s resources and bring humanity’s consumption into better balance is #MoveTheDate. The goal is to move the date of Earth Overshoot Day to December 31 or later every year, ensuring that the resources taken from the planet can be sustainability regenerated by the ecosystems. Solutions range across five major areas: planet, cities, energy, food and population. This solutions map tracks solutions being implemented across the world. Check it out to see if there are any near you.

Visit the Earth Overshoot Day website to learn more about how it is calculated, as well as the economic and ecological implications of humanity’s continued overuse of resources.

My Five things you can do:

Strive for zero waste–Reuse, Reuse, Reuse and Refuse!

Drive Less

Reduce your plastic footprint–No single use plastic!

Plant native plants and raingardens without chemicals!

Don’t waste food.

https://www.ecowatch.com/earth-overshoot-day-2025.html

Much Needed

I saw this rock in a park in Sarnia, Ontario

We need them sitting on every street corner in Washintod, D.C.

They are important concepts we should all aspire to live by

More Plasticfree

The last half of July is here. Remember it is Plastic Free July.

Beyond Plastic has a calendar of ideas to work on your Plastic free journey. I strongly suggest you visit a food coop where you can fill your own containers, day 16.

Day 16: Visit a refill store.

Wednesday, July 16, 2025
8:00 AM 8:00 PM

Reduce, reuse and refill are the only real solutions to the growing plastic pollution crisis outside of policy change so find and visit a refill store near you, and get to it!