Must-read recap: The New Lede's top stories

Climate change driving extreme fires ahead of schedule; the artificial turf debate heats up; mounting evidence of plastic pollution in human organs

Climate change may be driving extreme fires far ahead of schedule, study warns

Last year’s record-shattering Canadian wildfire season was directly linked to human-caused climate change,  according to a new study, which warns that the climate crisis may be fueling extreme fires decades earlier than previously expected.

This is the largest assessment specifically of Canada’s 2023 fire season, which was unprecedented in its scope and intensity, and adds to a wider body of evidence showing that climate change is fueling dangerous fires around the world at a rapidly growing pace.

“What was unusual is the amount of activity across the country,” said Piyush Jain, a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Service and a lead author of the study, which published last week in the journal Nature Communications. “Already we saw a year which would be as extreme as what we would expect to see in 2050.” (Read the rest of the story.)

As the world heats up, so does the debate around artificial turf

Artificial turf carpets athletic fields, playgrounds, and residential lawns across the US, offering a low-maintenance alternative to natural grass that always looks lush and doesn’t require heavy watering. But while this popular synthetic material is marketed as eco-friendly, it has also long attracted controversy – for decades, environmental and health advocates have expressed concern about the chemical byproducts of the turf’s plastic fibers.

Now, as climate change drives global temperatures to searing new records and cities scramble for ways to cool down, the old debate around artificial turf has taken on a new intensity. Along with concerns about toxic chemicals, some have begun to sound the alarm that artificial turf simply gets too hot in a world of ever-harsher heatwaves, exacerbating the health risks of the climate crisis.

Medical experts, like those at the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center, have begun to recommend against artificial turf  installations, often citing several health concerns — including  “a very real risk of burns, dehydration, heat stress, or heat stroke.” (Read the rest of the story.)

“It’s scary” — Scientists finding mounting evidence of plastic pollution in human organs

(A version of this article was co-published by The Guardian.)

A growing body of scientific evidence shows that microplastics are accumulating in critical human organs, including the brain, alarming findings that highlight a need for more urgent actions to rein in plastic pollution, researchers say. 

Different studies have detected tiny shards and specks of plastics in human lungs, placentas, reproductive organs, livers, kidneys, knee and elbow joints, blood vessels, and bone marrow. 

Given the research findings, “it is now imperative to declare a global emergency” to deal with plastic pollution, said Sedat Gündoğdu, who studies microplastics at Cukurova University in Turkey. 

Humans are exposed to microplastics – defined as fragments smaller than five millimeters in length – and the chemicals used to make plastics from widespread plastic pollution in air, water, and even food. 

The health hazards of microplastics within the human body are not yet well-known. Recent studies are just beginning to suggest these particles could increase the risk of various conditions such as oxidative stress, which can lead to cell damage and inflammation, as well as cardiovascular disease. (Read the rest of the story.)