Tiny plastic beads
used in facial scrubs and toothpastes have been accumulating by the millions in
the Great Lakes. Fish have been eating them with all the pollutants they
carry. Scientists are worried that they could move up the food chain to humans.
Recently, multiple cosmetics companies have been switching out the beads for
natural alternatives. Some companies have been questioning whether or not the
plastic beads are actually getting through wastewater treatment plants.
Professors and students have been examining samples of the water for the small
plastic beads. Scientists have been trying to show that poison from the beads
is transferred into the body of the animal that eats them.
Waste in
bodies of water is a major issue in the environment, and plastic is one of the
leading problems. These tiny beads are small enough (“…as big as a period on a
newspaper page”) to get through wastewater treatment plants to be eaten by
fish. Water pollution is an issue for humans as much as it is for animals in
the water. Pollutants have poisons and toxins in them. When fish or other water
creatures ingest these pollutants, and a human eats the fish, the poisons and
toxins can be transferred to the human. Water pollutants can jeopardize the
health of the entire food chain.
I enjoyed
reading this article. It was very informative and gave me a lot of insight on a
topic that I did not know about. I know about the beads they are talking about,
but I actually had no idea that they are plastic and that they are causing an
issue in the environment. However, I would’ve liked to know more of where these
beads come from and how exactly they pass through wastewater treatment plants.
Schwartz, John.
"Scientists Turn Their Gaze Toward Tiny Threats to Great Lakes."
NYTimes.com. The New York
Times, 14 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/us/scientists-turn-their-gaze-toward-tiny-threats-to-great-lakes.html?ref=science>.
Mia’s review was very interesting. Through her flow of words she shows that she seems to actually care about what she is writing. Which makes me want to read more. Her review was very informative. I think the best part of her review was, showing readers how these tiny beads affect humanity. She had a nice and easy flow to her writing, which makes me want to read more.
ReplyDeleteEven though Mia’s review was excellent, it could use some tweaking. Personally I would have liked it if she incorporated the author’s name and what company they are with. What I don’t understand is, why are these tiny beads affecting us when we eat fish but not while we are brushing our teeth? What triggers this poison? What happens when we consume these poisons? She should have dug deeper into the problem.
This article review gave more lots of information that I could use in my day to, day life. I have learned that I have to be more careful when I eat fish. Lastly, my only question is, are there problems like this occurring with other animals that humans consume?
I really liked this choice of article since it could potentially affect us. I thought that the summary was very well written, and was able to get the main points across very easily. I really liked all of the information on what people are currently doing in response to this, showing what a big deal it is and that people are investing their time into researching it. I also liked how she mentioned the food chain and how we could be affected by this problem and how terrible these toxins and pollutants really are. Finally, I liked hoe Mia talked about topics that weren’t really covered in the topic. These are also some topic I had questions on, and since she clarified, I know that it just wasn’t included in the article itself.
ReplyDeleteI thought that to make this review a little better, Mia could have given some information on how the beads are getting there. Is it due to pollution from factories? I would be good to know where these plastic beads are coming from. Also, when she mentioned cosmetic companies, I thought it would be good to know which cosmetic companies, since those would probably be a better alternative to help our environment, and if people could begin to use these products instead of the ones with beads, we could make a change.
Overall, I really liked this article, and it put light on how close these types of situations are to home. I was surprised at the size of the beads, only the size of a period on a newspaper! It is crazy that something that small can be causing such big problems.
I think that Mia did a very good job on her review. I think that Mia wrote her summary really well. She added the right amount of detail, and facts, which would not confuse the reader. All of the facts that she put in the summary made sense to me, and they helped me understand the topic better. Another thing she did well was that she told us how this problem is effecting the environment. She gave examples, which helped the review be clearer. Another thing she did well was that she gave a strong opinion on what she thought about this article, and different ways she thinks the article could be improved.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Mia’s review was done well, she could still improve a few things. I think that she could have maybe defined some words, because some words were new terms. For example maybe she could have told us what a cosmetic company is. Another way she could have improved would be that she could maybe add more information on a few topics.
Overall, I think that this was an interesting topic, and I think that it is shocking that such a small thing could cause so many problems.
I really enjoyed this article because of how easily the author made her article flow. The first paragraph, the description, was very easy to read and was very factual as well. I thought the author also did an exceptional job weaving in a quote directly from the article to help us understand the size of these beads more clearly. Lastly, the author did a very good job in tying the article to our daily lives and explaining how this epidemic affects us every day. By doing this the author give the article a more personal meaning and draw the reader even deeper into the topic.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would have liked for the author to do more of is too add more details about how the scientists plan to test for this and what has been done so far. The author doesn’t make it clear to the reader what the current status of this problem is. Also, this article leaves me with the question, “why are we just finding out about this?” These beads bust have been used for quite some time now and it’s shocking how we’re just realizing that they are all being dumped into the great lakes. We have filtration plants for a reason, shouldn’t someone have at least checked to see if something was getting through.
I was unaware of this situation before reading this article and I’m glad that I’m now informed about this serious problem in the US.
I really enjoyed this article because of how easily the author made her article flow. The first paragraph, the description, was very easy to read and was very factual as well. I thought the author also did an exceptional job weaving in a quote directly from the article to help us understand the size of these beads more clearly. Lastly, the author did a very good job in tying the article to our daily lives and explaining how this epidemic affects us every day. By doing this the author give the article a more personal meaning and draw the reader even deeper into the topic.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would have liked for the author to do more of is too add more details about how the scientists plan to test for this and what has been done so far. The author doesn’t make it clear to the reader what the current status of this problem is. Also, this article leaves me with the question, “why are we just finding out about this?” These beads bust have been used for quite some time now and it’s shocking how we’re just realizing that they are all being dumped into the great lakes. We have filtration plants for a reason, shouldn’t someone have at least checked to see if something was getting through.
I was unaware of this situation before reading this article and I’m glad that I’m now informed about this serious problem in the US.
Mia did a great job reviewing this article. She gave lots of information and details on the problems. She made it easy to understand what the article was about and the issues. Mia also thoroughly explained how this would hurt us in our everyday lives which made the issue more important and memorable.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this was an excellent review, she could have done a few things to make it even better. For example she could have stated possible solutions or what people are planning on doing to stop this issue. I also would like to know how the beads are getting there and why we are still sending them to those waters.
Overall this was a great summary on the article "Scientists Turn Their Gaze Toward Tiny Threats to Great Lakes". I did not know much about this issue and I am glad that I found out since it could potentially harm everyone in their every day lives.