4 ms·

The planet is on edge of a global plastic calamity

19 points by richardhod 8y ago

sggdfgdfgdfgdf 8y ago
This really angers me to some extent. Our oceans are not polluted because of use of plastic straws in the Western world. At the very least, they should look for the biggest sources of plastic in the Ocean, and try to reduce the influx there. This is also what software developers learn as a core principle: avoid premature optimization. Recently there have been announcements that 10% of the plastic in the oceans is abandoned fishing nets: https://www.worldoceanfest.org/new-blog/2017/6/9/the-impact-of-abandoned-ocean-fishing-nets-on-marine-life https://www.worldoceanfest.org/new-blog/2017/6/9/the-impact-... Another estimate was that 95% of the plastic comes from just 10 rivers: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4970214/95-plastic-oceans-comes-just-TEN-rivers.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4970214/95-pl... - 8 of them in Asia, 2 in Africa. (those two numbers seem to contradict each other, unless 5% of fishing nets come from the rivers, but still - then they should focus on getting the right numbers, and then act on those numbers). Even the case against plastic shopping bags is not so clear cut. Energy waste might be much higher for the alternatives. Assumptions that a non-plastic shopping bag can be used hundreds of times are overly optimistic. They get broken or lost much sooner. Plastic packaging might be a huge boon to food hygiene. I don't think food manufacturers are doing it just for fun. But no, we have to outlaw drinking straws. I'm sure that will save the planet. I get it - drinking straws simply seem superfluous. So why not just regulate them away. But there is another fundamental issue here: why, indeed, simply regulate every detail of people's lives? There is a fundamentally anti-freedom attitude at work here. Lastly, compared to global warming, plastic is not even a real issue. Earth itself probably doesn't care. Eventually, after a few hundred or thousand years, it will find a way to break down the plastic. Then again, maybe nature also doesn't care about global warming.
- orev 8y ago
  You are angering yourself based on a fallacy. Why do we only need to focus on one area and not others at the same time? It’s not like there’s only one person doing this and they need to pick and choose where they spend their effort. All of us can and should do what we can, that makes a difference locally. A single person of course cannot clean the rivers in Asia, but they can reduce their own production of waste. A saved straw is a saved straw, no matter where on the planet you are. In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a closed ecological system. Food manufacturers use plastic in packaging because it’s cheaper. That’s it. It has nothing directly to do with hygiene, though that might also be a benefit. However, many worry that plastics can leach into the food and affect it, so it’s not used for altruistic reasons.

19 points by richardhod 8y ago

This really angers me to some extent. Our oceans are not polluted because of use of plastic straws in the Western world. At the very least, they should look for the biggest sources of plastic in the Ocean, and try to reduce the influx there. This is also what software developers learn as a core principle: avoid premature optimization. Recently there have been announcements that 10% of the plastic in the oceans is abandoned fishing nets: https://www.worldoceanfest.org/new-blog/2017/6/9/the-impact-of-abandoned-ocean-fishing-nets-on-marine-life https://www.worldoceanfest.org/new-blog/2017/6/9/the-impact-... Another estimate was that 95% of the plastic comes from just 10 rivers: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4970214/95-plastic-oceans-comes-just-TEN-rivers.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4970214/95-pl... - 8 of them in Asia, 2 in Africa. (those two numbers seem to contradict each other, unless 5% of fishing nets come from the rivers, but still - then they should focus on getting the right numbers, and then act on those numbers). Even the case against plastic shopping bags is not so clear cut. Energy waste might be much higher for the alternatives. Assumptions that a non-plastic shopping bag can be used hundreds of times are overly optimistic. They get broken or lost much sooner. Plastic packaging might be a huge boon to food hygiene. I don't think food manufacturers are doing it just for fun. But no, we have to outlaw drinking straws. I'm sure that will save the planet. I get it - drinking straws simply seem superfluous. So why not just regulate them away. But there is another fundamental issue here: why, indeed, simply regulate every detail of people's lives? There is a fundamentally anti-freedom attitude at work here. Lastly, compared to global warming, plastic is not even a real issue. Earth itself probably doesn't care. Eventually, after a few hundred or thousand years, it will find a way to break down the plastic. Then again, maybe nature also doesn't care about global warming.

orev 8y ago
You are angering yourself based on a fallacy. Why do we only need to focus on one area and not others at the same time? It’s not like there’s only one person doing this and they need to pick and choose where they spend their effort. All of us can and should do what we can, that makes a difference locally. A single person of course cannot clean the rivers in Asia, but they can reduce their own production of waste. A saved straw is a saved straw, no matter where on the planet you are. In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a closed ecological system. Food manufacturers use plastic in packaging because it’s cheaper. That’s it. It has nothing directly to do with hygiene, though that might also be a benefit. However, many worry that plastics can leach into the food and affect it, so it’s not used for altruistic reasons.