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Not all environmental costs are in energy used and CO2 produced though. Microplastics are spreading all over the planet and we don’t know what the long term eff

Not all environmental costs are in energy used and CO2 produced though. Microplastics are spreading all over the planet and we don’t know what the long term effects on biological processes will be. Maybe the bag is harmless but maybe its not.

erichocean 7y ago
> we don’t know what the long term effects on biological processes will be When the short-term effects are bad, is it really necessary to wait to figure out the long-term effects?
- porknubbins 7y ago
  I am not aware of any solid info on the short term affects either but even without that we could justify action to reduce it based on the precautionary principal.
wahern 7y ago
Roughly a third (by weight) of primary microplastic emissions to oceans comes simply from the laundry of synthetic textiles. "Primary Microplastics in the Oceans", p. 21, https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2017-002.pdf https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documen... Primary contrasts with secondary; the former is emitted directly as microplastics, the latter become microplastics by degradation of larger pieces. According to that report, "in some countries benefitting from advanced waste treatment facilities, primary microplastics releases even outweigh that of secondary microplastics." p. 5. All of which is to say, if that plastic bag is properly disposed of (and perhaps even if not), the primary concern might be to avoid synthetic fabrics. That's increasingly difficult considering that so many brands are replacing all-cotton fabrics with blends.
- vonseel 7y ago
  I wonder how microplastic emissions are measured. Probably just some random sampling and estimation, but it would be interesting to know how they account for things like irregular pollution patterns (think about that huge garbage pile in the Pacific). I’m sure they can get pretty sophisticated with their methods... even accounting for things like tidal patterns.
  - porknubbins 7y ago
    You can read about a study here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/27/revealed-microplastic-pollution-is-raining-down-on-city-dwellers https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/27/revealed... Microplastics are not just in the ocean, this is in London air.

erichocean 7y ago

> we don’t know what the long term effects on biological processes will be When the short-term effects are bad, is it really necessary to wait to figure out the long-term effects?

porknubbins 7y ago
I am not aware of any solid info on the short term affects either but even without that we could justify action to reduce it based on the precautionary principal.

wahern 7y ago

Roughly a third (by weight) of primary microplastic emissions to oceans comes simply from the laundry of synthetic textiles. "Primary Microplastics in the Oceans", p. 21, https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2017-002.pdf https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documen... Primary contrasts with secondary; the former is emitted directly as microplastics, the latter become microplastics by degradation of larger pieces. According to that report, "in some countries benefitting from advanced waste treatment facilities, primary microplastics releases even outweigh that of secondary microplastics." p. 5. All of which is to say, if that plastic bag is properly disposed of (and perhaps even if not), the primary concern might be to avoid synthetic fabrics. That's increasingly difficult considering that so many brands are replacing all-cotton fabrics with blends.

vonseel 7y ago
I wonder how microplastic emissions are measured. Probably just some random sampling and estimation, but it would be interesting to know how they account for things like irregular pollution patterns (think about that huge garbage pile in the Pacific). I’m sure they can get pretty sophisticated with their methods... even accounting for things like tidal patterns.
- porknubbins 7y ago
  You can read about a study here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/27/revealed-microplastic-pollution-is-raining-down-on-city-dwellers https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/27/revealed... Microplastics are not just in the ocean, this is in London air.