It was quite a contrast in-Wednesday's Wisconsin State Journal. First I read the front page State Journal article "Hosting local games envisioned." It was about the new artificial turf being installed at the Duck Pond in Madison for the upcoming baseball and softball seasons.
Then, just a few pages later, I came upon the AP story about the global concerns regarding plastics pollution, which was being addressed by world representatives in Ottawa, Canada.
Artificial turf is part of the problem. Just like the emerging data on the forever chemicals known as PFAS, artificial turf can include various types of toxins and related microplastics. Not only could players be exposed to these, they could wash off the surface into the nearest watershed and endanger wildlife. Also, at the end of its lifecycle, artificial turf usually ends up in a dump where it continues to decompose over many years.
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Why are such chemicals allowed in artificial turf and rubber playground surfaces? And does the convenience for playing sports outweigh the future of our planet? Have we learned so little since the first Earth Day 54 years ago?
Kevin Spitler, Middleton