Lake Tahoe’s plastic peril
Specksized plastics are floating in rivers, oceans and now Lake Tahoe. The famously translucent Sierra gem is now joining the polluted list created by microplastics, the shaved down bits generated by human use.
It may not be surprising that sandy grit has found its way into the lake, but the source and effects amount to scientific mystery. Getting rid of microplastics or at least stemming their spread should go on the Tahoe conservation list and every other location where the detritus has shown up.
The world has an addiction to plastic. It’s durable, cheap and used in a million ways, from flip flops to pill bottles. But it doesn’t break down — ever— and recycling the material is a nightmare. Less than 10% of plastic waste is reused, with the rest burned or buried.
The tiny size of microplastic pieces makes the material nearly invisible. Until now, no one had filtered Tahoe’s snowfed water for plastics. Then earlier this year, a Nevada study group, the Desert Research Institute, examined samples taken around the lake and found fiber strands and red and blue particles barely visible to the eye. “We’re heartbroken and disappointed,” one of the scientists, Monica Arienzo, told the Los Angeles Times.
That’s as far as the findings went. The plastic could have washed into the lake, been tossed in by boaters and picnickers or even blown in on storms. The varied sources match the problem elsewhere in oceans, rivers and beaches as scientists seek out the direct source.
But there’s no doubt where the issue begins. Chemistry has created a simple and popular product that is spreading far beyond its intended use. Floating garbage patches in the Pacific, traces in bird bellies and fish guts, and noticeable amounts in the Arctic form the picture.
A World Health Organization study this month flashed a warning signal. There is growing amount of microplastics in drinking water but no evidence of harm to humans, at least for now. The amounts coursing through human bodies don’t appear to be a danger, but that outlook could change if plastic use continues to rise.
Cutting back on plastics, even if it only means less visible garbage, won’t be easy. It will mean changing everyday habits, buying products with less packaging and finding ways to recycle the leftovers.
With summer winding down, Tahoe’s visitors should enjoy a last glimpse at the azure water and then remember to haul away that garbage bag full of plastic wrap, worn out fleece and foam coolers. That’s not a lot to ask to help protect Lake Tahoe from its latest pollution threat.