7 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Might not be as bad as them scientist state, again ... big surprise. Testing for microplastic, with plastic gloves on. Follow the science ...

Plastic Balls will be the true and completely unexpected undoing of Humanity.

Still, microplastics are good for cows.

Adding plastic to cow feed can increase body weight.

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Plastic Balls will be the true and completely unexpected undoing of Humanity.

Ben Wa Balls or Anal beads ... 🙄

23 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Ben Wa Balls or Anal beads ... 🙄

In fact, if a male has been living on Planet Earth, something untrue of me....

Then, the testicles are full of microplastics....

Try bouncing one, or, instead, just take my word for it.

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

In fact, if a male has been living on Planet Earth, something untrue of me....

Then, the testicles are full of microplastics....

Try bouncing one, or, instead, just take my word for it.

Definitely a top 10 post for 2026!

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Ben Wa Balls or Anal beads ... 🙄

These, Sir, will be the undoing of YOU....

Try to refrain from using them, if you can.

4 hours ago, atpeace said:

Definitely a top 10 post for 2026!

Monkeys typing, here...

Years ago, on TV, this was once called "banter".

Now though, banter is rare, and seems to be frowned upon...

With good reason.

9 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Monkeys typing, here...

Years ago, on TV, this was once called "banter".

Now though, banter is rare, and seems to be frowned upon...

With good reason.

Regardless, the post you made prior was oddly hilarious! Keep up the banter ;)

Scourge, plague, pestilence or blight?
We can't start to take measures against climate change until we know which it is, and by how much.

Global survival is not like ski jumping.

11 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

Global survival is not like ski jumping.

One depends on which way the actual wind is blowing while the other depends on which way the political wind is blowing.

3 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

One depends on which way the actual wind is blowing while the other depends on which way the political wind is blowing.

3 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

One depends on which way the actual wind is blowing while the other depends on which way the political wind is blowing

Global survival depends more on what people do than what they think or say.

When we are sitting round the cave fire, how are you going to answer the question "Grandad, what did you do in the war?"

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

how are you going to answer the question "Grandad, what did you do in the war?"

He died at Auschwitz. Fell out of his guard tower.

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

Global survival depends more on what people do than what they think or say.

When we are sitting round the cave fire, how are you going to answer the question "Grandad, what did you do in the war?"

Thankfully, those who choose to ride bicycles are far less of a scourge upon the land.

But, just how does one ride across the Pacific or the Atlantic when visiting Canada?

On 7/4/2026 at 8:21 AM, atpeace said:

In those 50 years the world has come a long ways and when this film came out in 1983 the USA was more dangerous than ever before. The murder rate was double and the wars we were involved in the preceding decade make the USA wars today look like minor skirmishes.

Just a decade before we were dropping Napalm on villages and the decade before that black people had separate bathrooms.

Life is soooooo easy today. That is why we are lounging in a country on a rainy day across the globe from our countries with no fear. My wife's Dad would have been pulling bodies out of the Mekong River in the mornings in the "Big Chill" era.

"black people had separate bathrooms." The city that I was born in and grew up had "sunset laws" which prevented those inclined to commit crimes out of the city by sunset. It seems to work and my city prospered and was verily crime free.

3 hours ago, Screaming said:

"black people had separate bathrooms." The city that I was born in and grew up had "sunset laws" which prevented those inclined to commit crimes out of the city by sunset. It seems to work and my city prospered and was verily crime free.

I, too, very much enjoyed living under martial law, for years.

On 7/4/2026 at 12:08 PM, KhunLA said:

Might not be as bad as them scientist state, again ... big surprise. Testing for microplastic, with plastic gloves on. Follow the science ...

@GammaGlobulin

You cannot cure stupid. I mean those who take a science report, blow it out of proportion, use it politically, and in the end lose credibility.

He does not claim plastic is not a problem, and he and his family have taken precautions. Plastic pollution is a real problem, especially for marine life, and it has now spread to every corner of the world, even into the depths. Marine life suffers from it, and how humans adapt to plastic and the chemicals used in plastic in the long run is still uncertain.

34 minutes ago, Hummin said:

You cannot cure stupid. I mean those who take a science report, blow it out of proportion, use it politically, and in the end lose credibility.

He does not claim plastic is not a problem, and he and his family have taken precautions. Plastic pollution is a real problem, especially for marine life, and it has now spread to every corner of the world, even into the depths. Marine life suffers from it, and how humans adapt to plastic and the chemicals used in plastic in the long run is still uncertain.

I feel fortunate to have been born before the extremely pervasive presence of plastics in the environment, including microplastics.

So far, I guess the science tells us the following:

:In recent years, nanoplastic and microplastic particles (NMPs) have emerged as substantial threats to human health, particularly as endocrine disruptors. The endocrine system is especially vulnerable to these particles due to its intricate network of hormonal regulation, in which even minor disturbances can lead to widespread physiological effects. Studies have shown the pervasive presence of NMPs in human tissues, including blood, and their potential to impair metabolic and hormonal health.¹ This growing body of evidence underscores the urgent need to better understand the mechanisms by which NMPs interfere with endocrine function and to address their effect on public health."

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(26)00074-4/fulltext

I wonder when we will have the technology to remove nanoplastic and microplastic particles from the body.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S100107422500837X

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are increasingly recognized as emerging endocrine disrupting chemicals with significant implications for male reproductive health. Despite of well documentation on widespread presence in the environment, their specific effects on testosterone synthesis in humans remain insufficiently characterized. Current in vivo studies demonstrate that MPs impair androgen regulation through several interconnected mechanisms. These include oxidative stress–induced damage to Leydig cells, downregulation of antioxidant enzymes such as GPX1, disruption of the LH/cAMP/PKA/StAR signaling cascade essential for steroidogenesis, activation of NF-κB and inflammatory pathways, and induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress that accelerates testosterone metabolism. Additionally, MPs and their chemical additives interfere with steroidogenic enzymes and hormone receptors. Our review consolidates mechanistic insights linking MPs to testosterone disruption, underscores the dose-dependent nature of these effects. We also highlight critical knowledge gaps particularly the paucity of human data, the physicochemical diversity of MPs, and the long-term reversibility of endocrine disruption.

============

It would seem that nano- and micro-plastic particles, everywhere in our environment, is becoming a very hot topic of late.

17 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

I feel fortunate to have been born before the extremely pervasive presence of plastics in the environment, including microplastics.

So far, I guess the science tells us the following:

:In recent years, nanoplastic and microplastic particles (NMPs) have emerged as substantial threats to human health, particularly as endocrine disruptors. The endocrine system is especially vulnerable to these particles due to its intricate network of hormonal regulation, in which even minor disturbances can lead to widespread physiological effects. Studies have shown the pervasive presence of NMPs in human tissues, including blood, and their potential to impair metabolic and hormonal health.¹ This growing body of evidence underscores the urgent need to better understand the mechanisms by which NMPs interfere with endocrine function and to address their effect on public health."

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(26)00074-4/fulltext

I wonder when we will have the technology to remove nanoplastic and microplastic particles from the body.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S100107422500837X

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are increasingly recognized as emerging endocrine disrupting chemicals with significant implications for male reproductive health. Despite of well documentation on widespread presence in the environment, their specific effects on testosterone synthesis in humans remain insufficiently characterized. Current in vivo studies demonstrate that MPs impair androgen regulation through several interconnected mechanisms. These include oxidative stress–induced damage to Leydig cells, downregulation of antioxidant enzymes such as GPX1, disruption of the LH/cAMP/PKA/StAR signaling cascade essential for steroidogenesis, activation of NF-κB and inflammatory pathways, and induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress that accelerates testosterone metabolism. Additionally, MPs and their chemical additives interfere with steroidogenic enzymes and hormone receptors. Our review consolidates mechanistic insights linking MPs to testosterone disruption, underscores the dose-dependent nature of these effects. We also highlight critical knowledge gaps particularly the paucity of human data, the physicochemical diversity of MPs, and the long-term reversibility of endocrine disruption.

============

It would seem that nano- and micro-plastic particles, everywhere in our environment, is becoming a very hot topic of late.

We still do not know the whole picture. Nature adapts and evolves, but usually not on the scale of one human lifetime or the next generation.

Microbes can adapt quickly because they reproduce quickly. Humans change much more slowly. Still, where there is life, nature tends to find ways to adjust over time. That does not mean everything is harmless, only that life is constantly adapting.