Excess Deaths Point to Depopulation Agenda

 

Mike Whitney • November 5, 2021 (leer en castellano)

 

“I think it’s highly likely that the next phase will involve death on a scale which will dwarf the claims of “covid-19 deaths” to date.”

         - Dr. Mike Yeadon, former Pfizer Vice President

 

Question– Why is mortality in Scotland higher in 2021 than 2020?

Answer– Because more people are dying. And the reason more people are dying is because more people have been vaccinated. In other words, there’s a link between rising mortality and the Covid-19 vaccine.

Question– You can’t prove that.

Answer– You’re right, I can’t. The evidence is all circumstantial. But it is compelling, all the same. For example, rising mortality isn’t just happening in Scotland. It’s happening in many of the countries that launched mass vaccination campaigns earlier in the year. They’re all seeing a significant uptick in all-cause mortality. Why is that? What are they doing differently in 2021 than they did in the years before?

Question– I can see what you’re getting at, but I still don’t think you have enough evidence to make your case.

Answer– Okay, then you tell me: Why are more people dying in 2021 than 2020? And, keep in mind, all-cause mortality isn’t just up a bit; it’s smashing the five-year average. Check out this recent post from Alex Berenson at Substack:

Scotland is 87% adult vaccinated; weekly deaths are now 30% above normal

Oct 14, This is from the Public Health Scotland’s Covid-19 Daily Dashboard:

“The 315 excess deaths logged last week represents a 30% increase on the five-year pre-pandemic average for this time of year. This marks the 20th consecutive week with excess deaths above the five-year average and the highest since the week ending January 10, 2021.”

Even excluding Covid deaths they were almost 20% above normal for the most recent week, and the trend is rising.” (“Scotland is 87% adult vaccinated; weekly deaths are now 30% above normal”, Alex Berenson Substack)

Question– But how can you build a case on data from just one country? It’s ridiculous.

Answer– But it’s not just Scotland. The same rule applies to many of the countries that launched vaccination campaigns earlier in the year. Here’s more from Berenson:

Add Germany – Europe’s most populous nation – to the countries seeing unusually high all-cause mortality that is NOT Covid-related.

In September, Germany reported almost 78,000 deaths, more than 10 percent higher than the expected figure, German government demographers said earlier this week.

Press: “Mortality figures (in Germany) in September, 2021: 10% above the median of previous years.” (“It’s not just the UK; all-cause deaths are also now running well above normal in Germany (80% adults fully vaccinated)”, Alex Berenson Substack)

And then there’s this is from Data Analyst’s Twitter account (check out the charts):
Data Analysis @Data_is_Louder
·

Oct 26
COVID mystery Denmark, Finland and Norway excess deaths are higher than in their worst Covid outbreak. These mysterious excess deaths happened in time conjunction with vaccination rollout.

​Denmark ––“5 months is a row 2021 has broken the 10-year record of people dying from all causes…..Covid-19 deaths close to zero during the same period.”

The same is true in Ireland, UK and Israel. Take a look at England (Ages 10 to 59 years old.)

What’s so disturbing about this chart is that it shows how the vaccines target the young. “While the COVID death toll has been largely confined to the elderly… it’s the young who are bearing the brunt of vaccine injury. According to VigiAccess, the adverse event database for the World Health Organization, 41% of the more than 2.4 million vaccine injuries reported so far are among those under age 44, and just six percent are among people over age 75.” (“The real pandemic has just begun, and it’s COVID shot-induced heart attacks in the young”, Lifesite News)

That’s something you’re not going to read in the media, and for good reason, too. Because it would undermine their lethal objective to continue hyping the vaccine.

Here’s more from quantitative analyst Joel Smalley:

Joel@RealJoelSmalley

Weekly deaths update from the CDC. “Despite” being over 80% fully vaccinated, since 24-Jul, over 65s deaths in Florida are 14% higher than same period last year. “Despite” at least 50% full vaccination in the under 65s, deaths are up 46% and will rise as reporting catches up.

The examples are everywhere across the Internet. You don’t have to look very far. Wherever mass vaccinations took place, there, too, morality has risen. And–once again–these are not Covid deaths. These are mainly heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, circulatory diseases and neurological issues; the same vaccine-induced ailments we were warned about by the physicians and scientists who’ve been telling us the truth from the start. Turns out they were right after all.

Simply put, the vaccines are increasing fatalities, not reducing them. They are making matters worse not better. They are perpetuating the crisis not ending it. And that is why the red line in the chart is pointing upward. It’s an indication that the death toll will continue to rise as long as we continue to do what we are doing now, inoculating millions of people with a cytotoxic pathogen that triggers blood clots, inflammation and autoimmunity. Here’s another chart of Scotland with a short comment from The Daily Skeptic:

“…. the presence of a Covid epidemic was not seen in summer 2020, but is seen in summer 2021. What differs between the two years? The glaringly obvious answer is the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination. There was no COVID-19 vaccination programme in 2020, but there was rollout of Covid vaccinations in a sequential way to increasingly younger age groups in 2021, a pattern that we see in the manifestation of excess deaths. …. The Yellow Card adverse events reporting system,…. has already recorded over 1,700 deaths in the U.K. population associated with the COVID-19 vaccines. There is therefore a prima facie case for COVID-19 vaccination being a contributing factor to the dramatic rise in summer excess deaths in Scotland in 2021.”
(“Are Vaccines Driving Excess Deaths in Scotland, a Professor of Biology Asks”, The Daily Skeptic)

Have you noticed how the media is trying to cover-up the sudden surge in mortality? Here’s a good example from an article at the UK Telegraph:

“While focus remains firmly fixed on Covid-19, a second health crisis is quietly emerging in Britain. Since the beginning of July, there have been thousands of excess deaths that were not caused by coronavirus. According to health experts, this is highly unusual for the summer. Although excess deaths are expected during the winter months, when cold weather and seasonal infections combine to place pressure on the NHS, summer generally sees a lull.

This year is a worrying outlier.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), since July 2 there have been 9,619 excess deaths in England and Wales, of which 48 per cent (4,635) were not caused by Covid-19.

So if all these extra people are not dying from coronavirus, what is killing them?

Data from Public Health England (PHE) shows that during that period there were 2,103 extra death registrations with ischemic heart disease, 1,552 with heart failure, as well as an extra 760 deaths with cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke and aneurysm and 3,915 with other circulatory diseases.” (“Thousands more people than usual are dying … but it’s not from Covid“, Telegraph)

So, according to the article, there were:

• 24% more heart failure deaths than baseline
• 19% ischaemic heart disease
• 16% cerebrovascular disease (strokes)
• 18% other circulatory diseases

All of these cerebrovascular, cardiac and circulatory ailments didn’t suddenly drop from the sky in 2021. They are vaccine-generated injuries. Can you see that?

And they are all linked to the spike protein which is the “biological mechanism of action” that “damages blood vessels, organs, and causes blood clots, and that can kill a human being?” (Quote: Dr Peter McCullough)

Have you wondered why more people died this year of Covid than in all of 2020? According to Johns Hopkins, Covid killed 353, 000 people in the United States in 2020. But in just 10 months in 2021, 390,000 people have died. How can that be? After all:

1. Many of the extremely vulnerable have already died
2. The experts say Delta is not as lethal as the original Wuhan infection
3. 100 million people (according to the CDC) have already survived Covid and now have natural immunity
4. And 190 million people have been double-vaxxed

These are four reasons why deaths should be decreasing. But they’re not decreasing, they’re increasing.

Why?

The vaccine, that’s why.

And why are the countries with the highest Covid-19 death rates, also the most vaccinated countries?

It’s because “there is a massive positive correlation between vaccination percentage and deaths.”

But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself. Do your own research.

Just recently, Professor Norman Fenton at Queen Mary London University sifted through the government’s statistics (ONS) to see if he could “determine the overall risk-benefit of Covid-19 vaccines” by comparing “the all-cause mortality rates between the vaccinated and unvaccinated in each age category.”

His thinking on the matter was simple:

“If Covid is as dangerous as claimed – and if the vaccine is as effective as claimed – we should by now have seen many more Covid related deaths among the unvaccinated than the vaccinated….(and) If the vaccine is as safe as claimed, then there should have been very few more deaths from causes unrelated to Covid among the vaccinated than the unvaccinated (in each age group). So, the count of all-cause deaths should be higher among the unvaccinated than the vaccinated (in each age group), confirming that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks.” (Discrepancies and inconsistencies in UK Government datasets compromise accuracy of mortality rate comparisons between vaccinated and unvaccinated”)

Simple, right? In other words, if the vaccine is so great, then it should be clear from the data. But that’s not what Fenton found. What he found was the opposite. He found that all-cause mortality is higher among vaccinated people than the unvaccinated. (And depending how you interpret the data, it could be significantly higher.) Fenton hoped that his analysis would impact the debate on the ongoing vaccination program, but instead, he’s been viciously denounced as a right-wing extremist, which is what happens to anyone who dares to to challenge the official narrative. Here’s more from NPR:

“Inside the emergency department at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Mich., staff members are struggling to care for patients who are showing up much sicker than they’ve ever seen. Tiffani Dusang, the emergency room’s nursing director, practically vibrates with pent-up anxiety, looking at all the patients lying on a long line of stretchers pushed up against the beige walls of the hospital’s hallways. “It’s hard to watch,” she says in her warm Texan twang.

But there’s nothing she can do. The ER’s 72 rooms are already filled.

“I always feel very, very bad when I walk down the hallway and see that people are in pain or needing to sleep or needing quiet.”

Even in parts of the country where COVID-19 isn’t overwhelming the health system, patients are showing up to the ER sicker than they were before the pandemic, their diseases more advanced and in need of more complicated care.

Months of treatment delays have exacerbated chronic conditions and worsened symptoms. Doctors and nurses say the severity of illness ranges widely and includes abdominal pain, respiratory problems, blood clots, heart conditions and suicide attempts, among others.” (“ERs are now swamped with seriously ill patients — but many don’t even have COVID”, NPR)

Repeat: “abdominal pain, respiratory problems, blood clots, heart conditions.” In other words, the overcrowding in Emergency Rooms could as easily be linked to vaccine-induced injuries as they could to “delayed treatments”. And notice how the author seems genuinely concerned about the burgeoning ERs but never once mentions the elephant in the room; the vaccine. Was that just a slip-up on his part or was his real intention to bamboozle his readers from the start?

Then, there’s this gem in the New York Post that tries to prepare the public for the onslaught of “thromboembolic” disorders we’ll be facing in the very near future. The article is appropriately titled “The little-known heart attack that’s striking ‘fit and healthy’ women as young as 22.” Here’s a clip from the article:

“When you think of a heart attack, you immediately picture someone who is older and might already have underlying health issues. But experts have warned that women as young as 22 could be struck down by a little-known condition.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) happens when a tear forms in a blood vessel in the heart, the New York Post reports. It can slow or block blood flow to the heart, causing a heart attack, abnormalities in heart rhythm or sudden death, experts at the Mayo Clinic say.

In general, it’s an uncommon condition, but doctors are urging women to push for a diagnosis and care when it comes to the symptoms. The condition is most common in women ages 30 to 60 – but experts have warned that it is reaching fit and healthy women as young as 22.” (The little-known heart attack that’s striking ‘fit and healthy’ women as young as 22, New York Post)

Got that? So –according to the Post– it’s perfectly normal for a fit 22 year-old to be struck-dead by a heart attack. Do you think, perhaps, the author is trying to soften attitudes towards vaccine-induced injuries before they hit us like a ton of bricks? Indeed, he is, just like the article in the Times of India about celebrity superstar and fitness nut, Puneeth Rajkumar, who died just days ago from cardiac arrest. He was 46. According to The Times of India:

Rajkumar’s sudden death has once again highlighted the perils many in their 30s and 40s are facing today, which is the increasing risk of heart ailments and cardiac arrests….(Rajkumar) suffered from a massive cardiac ailment while he was exercising in the gym. Known to be overtly fit and healthy, Rajkumar used to workout often…

There’s been a shocking rise in the number of cardiac arrests being observed amongst those in their early ages, or even their 20s. While heart ailments and cardiac arrests were generally taken to be an ‘old people’s condition’, that’s no longer the case, and now a warning sign doctors urge people to be critically aware of. …

Because of the pandemic, doctors have also stressed that the concern for matters related to heart health have been pushed off, and it’s now more likely than before for people to suffer from silent heart attacks and cardiac arrests.” (“Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar dies at 46, suffered from a serious cardiac arrest while working out”, Times of India)

Does it seem like the media has accepted its role as accomplice to mass extermination or is that an exaggeration?

In any event, we can expect to see a deluge of similar articles popping up everywhere in the near future. Articles like this:

“Physical activity may increase heart attack risk, study suggests– New findings do not outweigh health benefits of exercise, researchers emphasize”, The Irish Times

Or this:

“Heart attacks among youngsters on the rise” The Hindu

Or this:

“Heart attack instances rose in 2021 with age no bar; here’s what led to it“, cnbctv18

Can you see what’s going on? These cookie cutter articles were all concocted with the same goal in mind, to hoodwink the public into believing that the extraordinary wave of deaths among healthy young people is completely normal. (“Nothing to see here. Move along.”) But, of course, none of this is normal. It’s all appallingly weird and shocking which is why we are so focused on excess deaths and all-cause mortality. Because, we think, these will provide the evidence we need to show that the vaccine is a critical part of the elite’s depopulation agenda aimed at slashing global population by billions of people. We still believe that’s what’s really going on. The big money guys have decided to eradicate a few billion of us cockroaches so they have more room to park their Learjets. As it happens, they settled on the vaccine as a “less messy” alternative to mowing us down in the streets with machine guns. Not that they’d lose any sleep over it.

So, how’s the plan going, you ask? Check it out:

“According to all-cause mortality statistics, the number of Americans who have died between January 2021 and August 2021 is 18% higher than the average death rate between 2015 and 2019.”

And here’s a clip from an article that extracted its data from more divers reseach. Take a look:

“Is the COVID Jab Responsible for Excess Deaths?…

Matthew Crawford of the Rounding the Earth Newsletter, examined mortality statistics before and after the rollout of the COVID shots… Crawford goes on to look at data from countries that have substantial vaccine uptake while simultaneously having very low rates of COVID-19. This way, you can get a better idea as to whether the COVID jabs might be responsible for the excess deaths, as opposed to the infection itself.

He identified 23 countries that fit this criteria, accounting for 1.88 billion individuals, roughly one-quarter of the global population….. Crawford goes through a number of adjustments to remove outliers that might skew the data sets,(but) after removing nations with more than 100 COVID deaths per million before their vaccination program, he came up with 13 countries with a combined population of 354 million.…

Remarkably, though, the number of COVID deaths in these 13 countries is 11.61 times higher post-vaccination, compared to before the jabs were rolled out. In five of the 13 countries, a whopping 90% of their COVID-19 fatalities have been logged after their vaccination campaigns began.

“On face, these results reinforce the case that the experimental vaccines are killing people,” Crawford writes. “At the very least, this is one more dramatic safety signal that should spur authorities who care about our health to come to the table for a discussion about how to refine the data they’re not analyzing to anyone’s knowledge …” (“Are The COVID Jabs Responsible For Rising Mortality Trends?” Mercola.com)

Interesting, eh? So, if you take the countries where there’s not much virus, and inoculate a ton of people anyway, then you can really see how many people are being killed by the vaccine. At least 10-times as many!

In contrast– in countries where there’s alot of viral spread– the damaging effects of the vaccine are much less visible. But no matter how you cut it, the spike protein erodes the body’s vital infrastructure weakening the vascular system, killing healthy cells and mitochondria, depleting the killer lymphocytes, and short-circuiting the immune system. The knock-on effects of this ferocious attack can be any of the myriad ailments that inevitably evolve from a pathogen-ravaged circulatory system, including cardiac arrest, stroke, pulmonary embolism, autoimmunity and a host of others. At present, heart attacks appear to top the list. Check out this brief post by Dr Peter McCullough:

The world is now witnessing a pandemic of N-STEMI heart attacks caused by blood clots

A certain type of heart attack is on the rise around the world. Healthcare professionals in Scotland have seen a sharp uptick in a potentially fatal type of heart attack called an N-STEMI attack. This condition is the result of partially blocked arteries that cut off the blood supply to the heart. It presents less tissue damage than a regular STEMI attack but can be equally fatal…. Cases of STEMI attacks have remained stable for years, (but) have recently spiked… Over the summer, the hospital had to increase its number of cardiology beds by 44 percent, as front line healthcare workers dealt with an increased demand of heart attack patients….

A pandemic of heart attacks that is brought on by a cytotoxic injection that inflicts damage on its victims whether they die or not. Is that an accurate summary of the Covid-19 vaccine?

It is. Here’s more from The Expose:

“Data available from the Centre for Disease Control in the USA shows that since the Covid-19 vaccination programme got underway in the US, deaths due to ‘abnormal clinical findings not elsewhere classified’ have increased exponentially compared to pre-Covid-19 vaccination levels…

Deaths in this category include cases for which no more specific diagnosis could be made…or symptoms were hard to determine… or cases were referred elsewhere.)

“…the number of deaths due to abnormal clinical findings … maintained a steady average of just over 1,000 a week since February 2020, and was also at these levels prior to the alleged pandemic hitting the USA. However, around the end of March / early April 2021 there was a sudden uptick in the number of abnormal deaths registered per week, suddenly climbing … to over 7,000 a week by the middle of September, representing a 600% increase on the average seen every week prior to the start of the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out.

The question of course is, why?

…The one thing that millions of people have in common since abnormal deaths began to rise against the expected average, is that millions of people have been given an experimental injection, for which there is no long term safety data to know what the consequences of that will be.

The official CDC data suggests that the consequences of a mass experimental vaccination roll-out are a shockingly steep rise in the number of deaths due to abnormal unidentified causes…” (“Investigation: Official CDC data shows a shockingly large increase of deaths due to abnormal mystery causes since Covid-19 Vaccinations began”, The Expose)

The article is consistent with the many stories we have heard from nurses reporting on patients presenting with unusual ‘oddball’ symptoms that elude traditional diagnosis. This should not be surprising given the unique properties of the spike protein whose stealthy attack on the vascular system has already touched off a tsunami of cardiovascular, neurological and immunological diseases unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. All of these deaths can be traced back to a “poison-death shot” that is relentlessly pushing all-cause mortality higher while killing people that are younger and younger. If you doubt this, then take a look at how many athletes are dropping dead shortly after they’ve been injected. It’s a story that’s bound to depress the hell out of any normal human being.

See here– “SURGE OF SPORTS PEOPLE WORLDWIDE SUFFERING UNEXPECTED ILL HEALTH”, Not The Beeb.com

Also, check out this illuminating 2-minute video dealing with cardiac arrest and our phony vaccine injury reporting system. (VAERS)

Dr. Mike Yeadon summarized recent developments in a comment he posted on the Morningstar Channel just last week. He said:​

“There’s no logical end game … but totalitarian tyranny… and mass depopulation… Some colleagues agree with the tyranny part, but balk at depopulation. (But) The evidence points firmly to it.”

Indeed, it does.

                                                            ***

 

Source: https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/excess-deaths-point-to-depopulation-agenda/

Over 25,000 tonnes of 'Covid plastic' is in our oceans, study says

 

 

 

Jonathan Chadwick

8th November

More than 25,000 tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other types of Covid-related plastic waste has entered Earth's oceans, a new study estimates.

Researchers in California have developed a computer model simulating the fate of plastic waste as it leaves beaches, drifts along the water and fragments into pieces. 

They estimate that 8.4 million tons of pandemic-related plastic waste has been generated by 193 countries, from the start of the pandemic to August 2021.   

Almost three quarters – 71 per cent – is likely to wash up on beaches by the end of the year, the model suggests.  

Most of the offending Covid-related plastic is from medical waste generated by hospitals, the researchers say, which 'dwarfs' the contribution from PPE and packaging from online shopping giant like Amazon and eBay.  

Covid-19 led to an increased demand for single-use plastics such as face masks, gloves, and face shields. But much of the resulting waste ends up in rivers and oceans, researchers warn

TYPES OF 'COVID PLASTIC' 

- Face masks

- Face shields

- Disposable gloves

- Surgical gowns

- Goggles

- Hand sanitizer bottles 

-  Test kits

- Packaging  

PPE includes masks, face shields disposable gloves and surgical gowns. The term 'Covid-related plastic', meanwhile, includes PPE and any plastic packaging used to contain these items, as well as plastic from test kits.

All can enter rivers and eventually travel into the world's oceans if not disposed of properly.  

The new study was led by a team of researchers at Nanjing University's School of Atmospheric Sciences and UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who used data from the start of the pandemic in 2020 through to August 2021. 

'Plastic waste causes harm to marine life and has become a major global environmental concern,' they say in their paper.

'The recent Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increased demand for single-use plastic, intensifying pressure on this already out-of-control problem.

'This work shows that more than eight million tons of pandemic-associated plastic waste have been generated globally, with more than 25,000 tons entering the global ocean.  

'This poses a long-lasting problem for the ocean environment and is mainly accumulated on beaches and coastal sediments.'    

Covid-related plastic includes masks, face shields, test kits, disposable gloves, surgical gowns and any plastic packaging used to contain these items (stock image)

For their study, the team devised a model that works like virtual reality, built based on Newton's laws of motion, according to study author Yanxu Zhang at Nanjing University.  

'The model simulates how the seawater moves driven by wind and how the plastics float on the surface ocean, degraded by sunlight, fouled by plankton, landed on beaches and sunk to the deep,' said Zhang. 

'It can be used to answer "what if" questions – for example, what will happen if we add a certain amount of plastics to the ocean?'

Graphic from the paper shows the different types of pandemic-associated plastics discharged to the global ocean - (A) hospital medical waste, (B) Covid-19 test kits, (C) PPE, (D) online-shopping packaging material and (E) all of them in total

The study found that most of the global plastic waste from the pandemic is entering the ocean from rivers. 

COVID-RELATED PLASTIC WASTE BY CONTINENT 

Covid-19 cases among the population 

Africa: 3.8 per cent

Asia: 31.2 per cent 

Europe: 25.7 per cent

North America: 21.9 per cent

South America: 17.3 per cent

Oceania: Less than 0.1 per cent

'Mismanaged' Covid-related plastic waste

Africa: 7.9 per cent

Asia: 46.3 per cent 

Europe: 23.8 per cent

North America: 5.6 per cent

South America: 16.4 per cent

Oceania: Less than 0.1 per cent

Note: All percentages are of the corresponding global total 

Asian rivers account for 73 per cent of the total discharge of plastics, with the top three contributors being the Shatt al-Arab, Indus, and Yangtze rivers, which discharge into the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and East China Sea. 

European rivers account for 11 per cent of the discharge, with minor contributions from other continents.

The researchers also compared the amount of Covid cases with Covid-related plastic waste that enters rivers, separated by continent. 

Asia accounted for the greatest total for both – 31.2 per cent of the world's Covid cases and 46.3 per cent of the world's Covid-related plastic waste.

This reflects the lower treatment level of medical waste in many developing countries such as India and China, compared with developed countries in North America and Europe with large numbers of Covid cases, the authors say.  

'When we started doing the math, we were surprised to find that the amount of medical waste was substantially larger than the amount of waste from individuals, and a lot of it was coming from Asian countries, even though that's not where most of the Covid-19 cases were,' said study co-author Amina Schartup at Scripps Oceanography. 

'The biggest sources of excess waste were hospitals in areas already struggling with waste management before the pandemic; they just weren't set up to handle a situation where you have more waste.'       

More than eight million tons of pandemic-associated plastic waste have been generated globally, the researchers estimate. Although face masks may not be thought of by some as plastic, they do feature a layer of non-woven bonded fabric to filter microorganisms from the mouth and nose – commonly made of polypropylene, a type of polymer

The researchers also estimate that within three to four years, most ocean plastic debris is expected to settle on beaches and the seafloor. 

A smaller portion will go into the open ocean, eventually to be trapped in the centres of ocean basins or subtropical 'gyres' – large systems of rotating currents in each of the five major oceans.

Unfortunately, the world's five subtropical gyres can go on to host garbage patches, comprised of PPE, litter, fishing gear and other debris.

The Arctic Ocean in particular is something of a 'dead-end' for plastic debris transported into it, due to ocean circulation patterns, the team say.  

Subtropical 'gyres' are large systems of rotating currents in each of the five major oceans. Due to the currents' movement, rubbish can accumulate within them

'10 TIMES MORE PLASTIC' IN ATLANTIC OCEAN THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT 

The Atlantic Ocean is thought to contain up to 200 million tonnes of microplastic pollution - 10 times more than prior estimations, a 2020 study found.

Scientists examined the uppermost surface of the Atlantic on a British research expedition and found 12 million tonnes of microplastics – plastic particles less than 5 millimetres in diameter. 

From this they estimated the entire Atlantic Ocean, from surface to seabed, to be carrying at least an extra 178 million tonnes of plastic on top of previous estimates. 

Just one million tonnes is approximately the same weight as 76,000 double-decker London buses. 

The Arctic ecosystem is already considered to be particularly vulnerable due to the harsh environment and high sensitivity to climate change. 

'There is a pretty consistent circulation pattern in the ocean, and that's why we can build models that replicate how the ocean moves – it's just physical oceanography at this point,' said Schartup. 

'We know that if waste is released from Asian rivers into the North Pacific Ocean, some of that debris will likely end up in the Arctic Ocean – a kind of a circular ocean which can be a bit like an estuary, accumulating all kinds of things that get released from the continents.'

The model shows that about 80 per cent of the plastic debris that transits into the Arctic Ocean will sink quickly.  

To combat the influx of plastic waste into the oceans, the authors urge for better management of medical waste in epicenters, especially in developing countries.

They also call for global public awareness of the environmental impact of PPE and other plastic products and development of more environmentally friendly materials. 

Another approach could be the development of 'innovative' technologies for better plastic waste collection, classification, treatment and recycling. 

Members of the public can do their bit by disposing of Covid-related waste responsibly, and recycling it where possible.  

The study has been published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

Study finds Amazon generated 465m pounds of plastic waste last year

COVID-19 WASTE AND THE SAFE SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES 

1. Hand Sanitiser vs Soap

Hand sanitiser has been in high demand globally during 2020, but the 70% alcohol gel which kills bacteria and viruses (including COVID-19) often comes in a plastic bottle.

To reduce plastic consumption, consider switching to a bar of soap and warm water for washing your hands. 

Bars of soap can often be found in entirely biodegradable packaging, making the impact on the environment considerably less than hand sanitiser. 

Alternatively, opting for liquid soap which can be refilled would allow you to reduce your plastic consumption without major changes to your lifestyle.

Ensuring you follow hand washing advice, the government states washing your hands is as effective as hand sanitiser for reducing the risk of getting ill.

2. Disposable Masks vs Washable Masks

Scientists at UCL have estimated that if every person in the UK used one single-use mask each day for a year, we would create 66,000 tonnes of contaminated plastic waste and create ten times more climate change impact than using reusable masks.

In a hospital environment, single-use protective wear such as masks and gloves are contaminated items, and there are systems in place for their safe disposal, which involve segregation and incineration.

Surgical grade N95 respirators offer the highest level of protection against COVID-19 infection, followed by surgical grade masks. 

However, evidence suggests that reusable masks perform most of the tasks of single-use masks without the associated waste stream. 

Material, reusable masks present a great eco-friendly alternative as long as they are washed after each use.

3. Plastic Bags vs Material

In October 2015, the government introduced new laws to curb the use of plastic bags in the UK. 

Since then, the number of plastic bags in the UK has dropped. 

The coronavirus, however, has seen more people turn to disposable bags, with several states in the USA banning reusable bags entirely.

Whilst the evidence is still unclear about how long COVID-19 can live on clothing, Vincent Munster, from the National Institutes of Health told the BBC that the NIH speculates ‘it desiccates rapidly’ on porous materials. 

General advice is instead of ditching reusable bags, to ensure they are washed regularly and anyone who comes into contact with them also washes their hands.

4. Coffee Cups vs Reusables

Coffee cups have been a large focus for plastic-free campaigners in recent years. 

However, as lockdown restrictions have eased and coffee shops have begun to reopen, many are returning to throw-away coffee cups to reduce the risk of contracting the virus. 

Several large coffee chains, which previously accepted reusable coffee cups, have also halted the use of them amid safety concerns.

Despite widespread concerns, more than 100 scientists, doctors, and academics have endorsed the sensible use of reusable containers as safe and unlikely to contribute to the further spread of COVID-19. 

Reusable cups should be washed thoroughly with hot water and soap.

5. Takeaway Pint Glasses vs #PlasticFreePints

As pubs reopened at the weekend, many were turning to plastic cups in order to aid takeaway orders and to reduce the need for staff to touch used glasses.

Similarly to the reusable coffee cups, if washed thoroughly, a reusable glass or tumbler could be a simple sustainable swap to help curb the growing coronavirus waste problem.

Ours to Save, a platform for global climate news, and EcoDisco, a sustainable events company, have created the #PlasticFreePints initiative to encourage pub-goers to use reusable alternatives in place of the typical single-use plastic on offer. 

Source: money.co.uk 

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10177487/Over-25-000-tonnes-Covid-plastic-oceans-study-says.html

Confirman partículas de óxido de grafeno en vacunas de Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna y Janssen: Informe final del Dr. Pablo Campra

 

 

KontraInfo/FF · 4 noviembre, 2021

Un nuevo informe afirma haber detectado partículas de óxido de grafeno en muestras de viales de vacunas de Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna y Janssen. El doctor en ciencias químicas de la Universidad de Granada y académico de la Universidad de Almería, Pablo Campra, dio a conocer su informe técnico final con una nueva investigación independiente en base a métodos de “microscopía acoplada a espectroscopía RAMAN” (conocida como micro-RAMAN),  “determinando la presencia de derivados de grafeno en muestras de vacunas Covid-19 comercializadas bajo cuatro marc
as diferentes”.

La presencia de estas partículas no está detallada en los prospectos y venía siendo negada, tanto por los laboratorios fabricantes como por los distintos Fact-checkers que vigilan y controlan, desde un tiempo a la fecha, la información que circula en redes sociales.

El informe indica:

“El objetivo del siguiente trabajo ha sido realizar un muestreo de señales espectrales de vibración RAMAN que, asociadas a imágenes de microscopía óptica acoplada a los espectros, permita determinar la presencia de derivados de grafeno en muestras de vacunas COVID19 comercializadas bajo cuatro marcas diferentes. Se han analizado más de 110 objetos visibles al microscopio óptico con apariencia compatible con estructuras de grafeno, de los cuales se ha seleccionado para el presente informe un total de 28 objetos por su compatibilidad con la presencia de grafeno o derivados en las muestras, teniendo en cuenta la correspondencia entre sus imágenes y señales espectrales con los obtenidos de una muestra patrón y de la literatura científica. De estos 28 objetos, en 8 de ellos la identidad del material con óxido de grafeno es concluyente por la elevada correlación espectral con el patrón. Los restantes 21 objetos presentan una compatibilidad muy elevada con estructuras de grafeno, teniendo en cuenta conjuntamente tanto sus espectros como su imagen óptica. La investigación continúa abierta y se pone a disposición de la comunidad científica para su discusión y replicación y optimización”.

Con respecto a la metodología empleada, el informe explica:

“Debido a las características de la muestra y en particular a la dispersión de objetos con apariencia grafénica de tamaño micrométrico en una matriz compleja de composición indeterminada, la aplicación directa de métodos espectroscópicos no permite caracterizar los objetos problema sin una previa localización o  fraccionamiento de la muestra original. Por ello se seleccionó la microscopía acoplada a espectroscopía RAMAN (micro-RAMAN) como técnica eficaz para una prospección exhaustiva de los objetos micrométricos visibles al microscopio óptico. La espectroscopía de infrarrojo RAMAN es una técnica rápida, no destructiva, que
permite la verificación de la estructura del material mediante la identificación de modos vibracionales y fonones generados tras la excitación con láser monocromático,
generando dispersión inelástica que se manifiesta en picos de emisión infrarroja característicos de la estructura reticular del grafeno y derivados. La microscopía óptica acoplada permite enfocar el láser de excitación a objetos concretos y puntos localizados en los objetos y reforzar el grado de confianza en la identificación de la naturaleza del material, y complementariamente obtener información de grosor, defectos, conductividad térmica y geometría de borde de las mallas cristalinas de grafeno”.

Y agrega:

“La técnica de micro-Raman aplicada ha resultado ser muy efectiva para la caracterización rápida de un número elevado de objetos microscópicos en la detección
de micro-estructuras de grafeno dispersas en muestras complejas. En comparación con la espectroscopía macro-Raman directa de dispersiones acuosas, la combinación con la microscopía tiene la ventaja de poder asociar señales espectrales a objetos visibles al microscopio óptico, lo que permite focalizar la prospección hacia objetos concretos con apariencia grafénica, reforzando su caracterización espectroscópica”.

En sus conclusiones, el informe sostiene:

“Se ha realizado un muestreo aleatorio de viales de vacunas COVID19 mediante técnica acoplada micro-RAMAN para caracterizar objetos microscópicos con apariencia grafénica mediante señales espectroscópicas características de la estructura molecular. La técnica micro-RAMAN permite reforzar el nivel de confianza en la identificación del material mediante el acoplamiento de imágenes y análisis espectral como evidencias observacionales que deben considerarse conjuntamente.
Se han detectado objetos cuyas señales RAMAN por similitud con el patrón inequívocamente corresponden con ÓXIDO DE GRAFENO REDUCIDO. Otro grupo de objetos presentan señales espectrales variables compatibles con derivados de grafeno, por la presencia mayoritaria de señales RAMAN específicas (banda G) asignado a la estructura aromática de dicho material, en conjunción con su apariencia visible. La investigación sigue abierta para su continuación, contraste y replicación. Ulteriores análisis con la técnica descrita u otras complementarias basadas en muestreos significativos permitirían evaluar con significación estadística adecuada el nivel de presencia de materiales grafénicos en estos fármacos, así como su caracterización química y estructural detallada”.

Dr. Pablo Campra

Diversos estudios vienen advirtiendo sobre la toxicidad de las nanopartículas de grafeno.

Uno de ellos, del equipo investigador de Asmaa Rhazouani, sostiene:

“El óxido de grafeno (GO), un derivado oxidado del grafeno, se utiliza actualmente en biotecnología y medicina para el tratamiento del cáncer, la administración de fármacos y la obtención de imágenes celulares. Además, GO se caracteriza por varias propiedades fisicoquímicas, incluido el tamaño a nanoescala, la gran superficie y la carga eléctrica. Sin embargo, el efecto tóxico del GO sobre las células y los órganos vivos es un factor limitante que limita su uso en el campo médico. Recientemente, numerosos estudios han evaluado la biocompatibilidad y toxicidad de GO in vivo e in vitro. En general, la gravedad de los efectos tóxicos de este nanomaterial varía según la vía de administración, la dosis a administrar, el método de síntesis de GO y sus propiedades fisicoquímicas“.

Otro informe, del grupo de investigación de Danica Jović, explica:

 A pesar de ser prometedor para las diversas aplicaciones, se han planteado preocupaciones justificadas sobre el impacto de los nanomateriales de carbono. Investigación realizada in vitro e in vivo. Los modelos han afirmado que algunos miembros de la familia de los nanomateriales de carbono, además de ser genotóxicos, también demostraron inducir daño oxidativo, inflamación y activar diferentes vías de señalización celular que pueden resultar en diferentes respuestas celulares”.

De acuerdo a estudios como el de James D Byrne; John A Baugh (2008). “El significado de nano partículas en fibrosis pulmonar inducida por la partícula”, los nanotubos de carbono se depositan en el conductos alveolares alineando a lo largo con las vías respiratorias y se combinan a menudo con metales. La forma de la aguja fibra de CNTs es similar a fibras de asbesto. Esto plantea la idea de que el uso generalizado de nanotubos de carbono puede llevar a pleural mesotelioma, un cáncer del revestimiento de los pulmones, o mesotelioma peritoneal, un cáncer del revestimiento del abdomen (causados por la exposición al asbesto). Los autores del estudio “los nanotubos de carbono en la cavidad abdominal de los ratones muestran patogenicidad asbesto-como en un estudio piloto” (Polonia, CA; Duffin, Rodger; Kinloch, Ian; Maynard, Andrés; Wallace, William A. H.; Seaton, Anthony; Piedra, Vicki; Brown, Simon; et al (2008)), concluyen:

“Esto es de considerable importancia, porque las comunidades de investigación y negocios continúan realizando grandes inversiones en nanotubos de carbono para una amplia gama de productos bajo la premisa de que son no más peligrosos que el grafito. Nuestros resultados sugieren la necesidad de más investigación y mucha cautela antes de introducir dichos productos en el mercado”.

Sin embargo, los usos del grafeno dentro del cuerpo humano son múltiples.

En un artículo de Europa Press, titulado “Manejan células cardiacas cultivadas en laboratorio mediante control remoto”, se explica que investigadores de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de California en San Diego, Estados Unidos, han desarrollado una técnica que les permite acelerar o desacelerar a voluntad las células del corazón humano, cultivadas en grafeno, simplemente iluminándolas y variando su intensidad, lo que plantea una incógnita acerca de los posibles efectos remotos de estas nanopartículas dentro de un cuerpo humano. El grafeno es un semimetal formado por un entramado de átomos de carbono, el mismo elemento que forma la base de todos los organismos vivos. Parte de lo que hace que el grafeno sea especial es su capacidad para convertir eficientemente la luz en electricidad. “Nos sorprendió el grado de flexibilidad que el grafeno permite mover las células literalmente a voluntad -dice Alex Savchenko, investigador científico del Departamento de Pediatría de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de California en San Diego y del Consorcio de Medicina Regenerativa de Stanford-. ¿Quieres que palpiten el doble de rápido? No hay problema, solo aumentas la intensidad de la luz. ¿Tres veces más rápido? No hay problema: eleva la densidad de la luz o el grafeno”.

Pero el grafeno no solo es sensible a la luz. El estudio titulado: “Influencia del óxido de grafeno reducido en el desplazamiento efectivo del ancho de banda de absorción de los absorbedores híbridos”, explica que también responde a distintas radiaciones de frecuencias electromagnéticas: 

“El compuesto de nanopartículas magnéticas NiFe 2 O 4 se ha estudiado tradicionalmente para la absorción de microondas de alta frecuencia con un rendimiento marginal hacia las bandas de radar de baja frecuencia (particularmente las bandas L y S). Las nanopartículas y los nanohíbridos que utilizan láminas de óxido de grafeno (GO) de gran diámetro se preparan mediante síntesis solvotérmica para un blindaje de ancho de banda amplio de baja frecuencia (bandas de radar L y S). Los materiales sintetizados se caracterizaron utilizando XRD, SEM, FTIR y espectroscopía magneto dieléctrica de microondas. La dimensión de estas partículas e híbridos prístinos sintetizados solvotermalmente se encuentra entre 30 y 58 nm. Se realizó espectroscopía magneto-dieléctrica de microondas en la región de baja frecuencia en el espectro de 1 MHz-3 GHz. Se descubrió que las nanopartículas e híbridos prístinos sintetizados eran altamente absorbentes para microondas en todas las bandas de radar L y S (<−10 dB de 1 MHz a 3 GHz). Esta excelente propiedad de absorción de microondas inducida por el acoplamiento de láminas de grafeno muestra la aplicación de estos materiales con un ancho de banda de absorción que se adapta de manera que puedan usarse para baja frecuencia. Anteriormente, estos se usaban para absorciones de alta frecuencia (típicamente> 4 GHz) con ancho de banda selectivo limitado“.

Las derivaciones de estas conclusiones para los usos civiles y militares remotos del grafeno se expanden cada día.

Puede leerse el informe completo de la investigación del Dr. Pablo Campra, en este enlace.