As you probably noticed, my 5 month hiatus of writing is coming to an end. During that time, much has happened that has taken much of my attention, including work on the 95th annual ESA Conference here in Pittsburgh and writing my master's thesis.
In case you were curious, or even if you weren't, I wanted to share a bit from my thesis about the environmental affects of cigarette litter in the city of Pittsburgh. I found, through massive amounts of research, that cigarette butts are not only ugly litter, but they are also extremely toxic to the environment and organisms that encounter them. Cigarette butts contain hundreds of toxins, which can leach into the environment, where they can enter waterways or soil and contaminate the ground around their deposition site. They can also be fatal when ingested by children and animals. Even exposure to cigarette butts and their contaminants can be fatal or cause nicotine toxicosis or other illness. Besides being toxic, cigarette butts can also be costly to clean up.
The city of Pittsburgh, like many cities, has a litter problem. Pittsburgh also has combined sewer overflows, which means that storm drains are connected to sewage drains and eventually flow to sewage treatment plants. Cigarette and other litter is treated at these plants, and can be extremely costly. In other cities throughout the world, cigarette litter makes up between 23-50% of the litter by item in all surveys that have been conducted. The costs for cleaning cigarette litter can be astronomical, and some cities have begun trying to find ways to combat the problem.
If you're interested in reading my entire thesis or in reading some ways to combat cigarette litter, or just want to learn more about it, see The Big Butt Problem
And next time, think about your butt! Use an ashtray!
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