The Ocean Cleanup thinks they've finally come up with a way to remove plastic pollution from our oceans

Plastic pollution in the oceans is a monumental problem. Here's a story about one young man's efforts to clean it up - Boyan Slat, now 27, and the founder of The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit organization, has been working on this since he was 19.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/half-mile-installation-just-took-124200162.html

Photo Credit: The Ocean Cleanup

However,...

At current plastic dumping rates of 11 million metric tons per year, it would take a fleet of over 5,500 such devices to collect it. For perspective, the U.S. Navy has less than 500 ships.

Is this a realistic goal? Will it ever happen? What do you think?

California drought to continue with the return of La Niña

La Niña returns to impact California - will this drought never end?

See the article below for more information.

The worst drought ever?

Wildfire smoke and Covid19 Delta variant put Valley residents in a No-Win scenario

Just like many parts of the country, the Covid19 Delta variant is causing an increase in infections and hospitalizations in the San Joaquin Valley - especially among those of you who refuse to get vaccinated against it for whatever illogical reason you may have. 

As if that wasn't enough, wildfires that are still raging throughout California are causing severe air pollution problems in the Valley as well, so much so that the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (APCD) has just issued a Health Caution and an Air Quality Alert because of the harmful smoke from those fires.

As part of that caution, the APCD is recommending that people stay indoors and avoid activities outdoors. The APCD also says that the common cloth and paper masks being used for Covid19 protection may not offer sufficient protection against the particulate matter (PM) present in wildfire smoke.

This puts the average citizen in a quandary - should he/she stay inside or go outside? As you probably know, most health authorities have stressed that being outside offers more protection against Covid19 than being indoors. 

However, the APCD is saying that by going outdoors in this smoky environment, you are putting your health at a greater risk than staying inside.

What do you think? Leave your comments below if you have them. 

P.S. We have some dice if anyone wants to borrow them.

Use RAAN to see how bad the air outside really is

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (APCD) issued an air quality alert for Valley residents yesterday due to smoke from California's wildfires. If you step outside and take a deep breath or just look at the hazy skies, you will quickly understand why. 

If you want to get a little more information on just how bad it really is as measured by ambient air quality monitors, then check out the APCD's Real-time Air Advisor Network (RAAN). By using either a free app or by typing in your zip code at the RAAN website, you can see what the ozone and PM2.5 levels are in your area right now and throughout the day.

Again, because of the risk to your health, the APCD recommends that you avoid strenuous outdoor activities until the skies clear to safer levels.