This is a report of a study done at Utah State University on microplastics in places like national parks and wilderness areas. The PI in the investigation suspected that the calculations, which reported microplastics in 98% of the samples and 4% of the dust particles that were tested, were incorrect, but upon retesting, the results were confirmed. In fact, the smaller particles that were detected, were surmised to have been carried extremely long distances on air currents as part of the cycles of global dust transport. Although previous papers have reported on microplastics in atmospheric deposition, this paper was the first to ask "why and how is this happening." Fine plastic particles in the air means that we are breathing them in, which may have health effects.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/arts/music/bats-field-works-ultrasonic.html
This is a NYT article about bats, Stuart Hyatt's neighborhood bats. The composer and producer of the album "Ultrasonic" records bats, whose songs are so high in frequency that humans cannot hear them, makes them audible and sends them to composers. He has also made "field recordings" of Scientology ceremonies and the Indiana State Fair and began to consider animals as his source material in 2018 on a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains State Park, where he recorded bats and translated their sounds to audible electronic signals. Then he actually found bats roosting 40 minutes from his home along wetlands near the Indianapolis airport. The tracks of "Ultrasonic" include "A Place Both Wonderful and Strange." His next library of sound will include poems from Arabic and English about cedar trees, read and sung over hypnotic instruments and accompanied by a comic book. And, yes, I ordered "Ultrasonic."
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