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This is great, but what happens to the sachets? Are the biodegradable? When I was in India a few years ago I was struck by all the newly introduced non biodegra
by selimnairb 5y ago
This is great, but what happens to the sachets? Are the biodegradable? When I was in India a few years ago I was struck by all the newly introduced non biodegradable packing strewn about EVERYWHERE. The old unfired clay cups used by road-side tea vendors were great, but they were rapidly being replaced by little white plastic cups. Plastic is a scourge on the land and water resources.
- FredPret 5y agoI wonder how long it'll take for a plastic-eating microorganism to evolve. Apparently trees evolved hundreds of millions of years before the bacteria that can make wood rot arrived, so you probably had piles of dead trees everywhere for such a long time.
- PicassoCTs 5y agoThe bacteria was a fungi, and yes trees piled up for a long time. We use them today - as coal deposits.
- asah 5y agohow did new trees grow when the ground was covered in piles of dead trees?
- Pfhreak 5y agoTrees are capable of growing in and on other trees. Also, most of the tree comes from air, not the ground.
- FredPret 5y agoDo you happen to know what percentage of trees are from CO2 and what from the soil? I’ve always wondered how much carbon is captured in, say, a book, or a dresser
- tonyarkles 5y agoI don’t know the exact number, but came across a wild thought experiment a while ago that drove it home. Look at a big tree. There’s 3 things that could have gone into making it: water, air, and earth. If you look at the ground around it, there’s no hole where the tree grew. Sure, there’s the root system, but there’s nowhere near enough dirt missing to have made both the root system and the 50’ above-ground portion of the tree. That only leaves air and water.
- FredPret 5y agoThat’s a good one. Though it’s possible the soil is less dense around the roots due to mineral absorption. But I suppose the majority of the mass must come from water and carbon in the air.
- Pfhreak 5y agoFeynman on this exact question: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ifk6iuLQk28&feature=emb_title https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ifk6iuLQk28&feature=emb_title
- sitkack 5y agoI have seen 50+ foot tall trees growing directly out of ancient lava flows, nearly zero soil. From a cursory search, it looks like about 88% of the dry mass of a tree comes from the atmosphere (CO2 and H2O).
- neurostimulant 5y agoDry wood is about 50% carbon, 41% oxygen, 6% hydrogen, and 3% trace minerals, so it's probably safe to say that over 50% of it comes from CO2, and the rest from water and soil.
- mahogany 5y agoIs there not carbon in the soil? Edit: I misread what you said. I think you are claiming that because there is so much carbon and oxygen, probably more than half comes from CO2. But there is both carbon and oxygen (well really, air) in soil. Although apparently the concentration of CO2 in the soil's air is much higher than it is in the normal atmosphere, so it's possible your statement is correct. (Plus looking at dry wood composition is a bit odd when it's generally less than 15% moisture content - that leaves out a lot of water that's present in a living tree.)
- FredPret 5y agoI’m no ancient tree expert, but I imagine they’d eventually be buried under layers of new soil, washed away, or be swept along with geological movements
- gumby 5y agoWhat do you think “new soil” is made of? The original trees evolved in a soil with different composition from the soil we have today (which today includes the consequences of decomposition of... trees). I mean sure some of that could happen due to a bit of wind, so you’re not at all wrong. But the volume of thick loamy topsoil isn’t mostly tiny rock grains (sand) but a living amalgam of bacteria, fungi, plant matter, plantae, animal detritus (faeces but also cast off skin or carapaces...). Part of the problem with modern farming is that parts of the economic process treat the soil as an inert matrix (just as road bike manufacturers justifiably (in their case) don’t spend time thinking of the road as part of the bike system).
- JaimeThompson 5y agoPaenarthrobacter ureafaciens KI72 also know as Nylon eating bacteria can eat Nylon. I am not a biologist so I know little more about it than what I read in [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylon-eating_bacteria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylon-eating_bacteria
- FredPret 5y agoNice! Nylon is from the 1920’s, so it only took 100 years
- anamexis 5y agoI would argue that this is a situation where the (presumed) greater expense of a biodegradable sachet would not be worth it. When it comes to providing safe drinking water, I would want the cost to be as low as possible.
- gumby 5y agoI agree with your observation of India but note that biodegradable packaging has to be looked after or else it degrades before you’re ready. Think of flour packaged in paper: it is in fact sold that way in some places but it leaks and if it gets wet the flour is ruined. This is a product designed for somewhat demanding conditions. If anything your good argument really asks why a more biodegradable approach is not used in places that could afford it (I don’t mean economically but in “having the affordances for”). Western countries can manage to reliably package and use flour in biodegradable paper packages, why not other products? And the plastic bags that are a scourge upon the landscape not just of India are formthe most part not really needed.