Here’s why you should never, ever drink the rain.

Here’s why you should never, ever drink the rain.

While precipitation has become less acidic, a growing body of evidence suggests that it’s now full of many other pollutants that pose a risk to public health, including microplastics. And unlike the compounds that cause acid rain, these pollutants are almost impossible to get rid of.

Over time, these modern-era substances — which famously take decades to millennia to degrade — have leached into the environment, reaching every corner of the planet, no matter how tall or deep. Microplastics, PFAS, and some other compounds, such as pesticides, are now so widespread

They’re so common, in fact, that they’re even found in the rain.

  • HunterFett@lemm.eeEnglish
    122·
    1 day ago

    We have two daughters. We had the first because we love each other deeply and want to share that with a family. Shortly after she was born the world was rocked by COVID and all the cracks became too apparent even through our lovebird haze. We love our daughter, but feared for her future, feared for her to be alone in this world without us one day. So we made the conscious decision to bring another person into this world just so that the first wouldn’t have to be alone.

    It seems a terrible, selfish thing to do to condemn these two incredible, beautiful creatures to such a grim world. They deserve so much more, and my life is made so much happier for their smiles, and so very much worse when I read articles like this knowing what they will have to suffer. These poor babies deserve the lives we had as children, not this crumbling, cooking world.

    • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
      13·
      2 hours ago

      Wait, so you had a kid and afterwards recognized how fucked up it is to bring a life into this world when it’s on the verge of collapse and your solution was to… Have another kid?

      Jesus Christ. What the fuck is wrong with you? I’m sure your second daughter will be overjoyed to learn that her purpose in life is just to be a potential companion for your first daughter if things get rough. I don’t know what fairy tale household you grew up in, but it is by no means a guarantee that your daughters will be close, or even get along, when they grow up.

      If you don’t have the means to guarantee a good life for your child, then you shouldn’t have a kid in the first place. And if you’re so selfish that your animalistic need to breed outweighs the harsh reality of the difficulties you will inflict on a life by bringing it into this chaotic world, the solution is NOT to breed again just to potentially make up for your own shortcomings.

      Sorry, I get upset whenever I see examples of people giving into to their monkey brain desire to fuck and reproduce with no forethought as to what that actually means. You may think my view on your actions is cruel, but it pales in comparison to the cruelty you have inflicted on two lives through your own selfish desires.

      To those who think being fully prepared to support a child in this world before having one is too high a barrier for most couples; yes. You’re absolutely right. Most people should not be parents. Our world lacks the stability, resources, and infrastructure for the average person to raise a child in a way that ensures their success. Despite what the stories tell you, love alone is NOT enough.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
      42·
      23 hours ago

      It seems a terrible, selfish thing to do to condemn these two incredible, beautiful creatures to such a grim world.

      I’m hard pressed to point to a moment in human history when anyone could claim otherwise. But bringing people into the world and (much more importantly) raising and caring for and educating and loving them isn’t something you do because utopia already exists. Its a passion project you pursue to make the world a better place.

      The vast, vast majority of the modern world is a human project. If your generation fucked it up a bit more than most (and, honestly, Millennials are beating themselves up far too unfairly if they think they’ve done a worse job in the last 30 years than their parents or grandparents did) then fix what you can, remind your children to love their neighbors and one another, and put the world in their hands when you’re done.

      These poor babies deserve the lives we had as children, not this crumbling, cooking world.

      I think you will be surprised to discover how dire your parents viewed the world when they were your age. And even more surprised to discover how bright and beautiful your children view the world because you’re there to show it to them.