> most damaging inventions of the 20th century? It would be impossible to say, without knowing the numbers - both of damage, as well as constructive, healing,

> most damaging inventions of the 20th century? It would be impossible to say, without knowing the numbers - both of damage, as well as constructive, healing, or life-saving purposes. For instance - think of all the things plastics have made possible, that no other material is capable of (or works as well). I'm thinking things like medical implants, as well as more mundane things like adhesives and tapes, and products based on those - for instance, how much infection have bandaids helped to prevent? Then there's clothing, automotive interiors lessening injury in accidents, as well as use as a material that is lighter weight to lower fuel consumption for a variety of vehicles, among other uses. I don't think you can paint plastics completely in a terrible light, just like you can't nuclear radiation, and any number of other things. At worst, they are all double-edged swords, and we must as a species either decide to get rid of them entirely, or learn to use them properly. In the case of plastics, I doubt that the former will be the route we take for a variety of reasons - mainly though because their benefits seem to far outweigh their detriments (unless and until we have hard numbers for both, though, that's as unsupported as your original proposed claim - but it seems like that's what we've mostly decided). So we need to learn how to better process and manufacture them, how to better manage their shipping and transportation, and how we dispose or recycle them (whatever that ultimately means).