The Environmental and Conservation Issues Room
Like I have been saying. The raw material for plastic comes up with the crude oil. What exactly are we going to do with it?Originally Posted by Guerilla
Senior Member
Like I have been saying. The raw material for plastic comes up with the crude oil. What exactly are we going to do with it?
My beliefs are a distillation of what I was taught as a child and what I observe as an adult.
Senior Member
If we are going to use oil, then it would make sense to also use the plastic that comes with it, but then, we shouldn't even be using the oil. It's not biodegradable. We should switch to all biodegradable.
For now, I guess we could turn the plastic into energy like Sweden. Or we could turn the raw material that plastic comes from into something else.
Last edited by Guerilla; 11-08-2014 at 01:45 PM.
"I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall it's buildings of concrete are, but rather how well it's people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man." - Chippewa
"They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds." Mexican Proverb
Senior Member
Actually oil is the result of biodegraded plant and animal remains. It is an organic substance. The monomers and polymers that are present can not be fashioned into unicorns and butterfly farts. They are what they are. Short of not pumping them to the surface in the first place there is a limited number of materials that can be produced with them. This is the only realistic thing to do otherwise we have a mountain of toxic goo that has to go somewhere.
My beliefs are a distillation of what I was taught as a child and what I observe as an adult.
Guerilla (11-08-2014)
Senior Member
Good points, I'm not big on chemistry.
I think we should keep the goo safely in the ground. If we find a substance or create a product that is harmful, we shouldn't continue in that direction like we have done. But that is largely the fault of competing special interests. Those special interests aren't able to keep there place though with all the new tech coming out lately.
"I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall it's buildings of concrete are, but rather how well it's people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man." - Chippewa
"They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds." Mexican Proverb
Senior Member
A major change in our lifestyle would be the only way to approach this issue. It would be drastic enough to require a couple of generations to ease into it. All our roads and roofs that require asphalt could be phased out given enough time. Things like rubber, fertilizer, medications, and fuel can all be replaced by other means over time.
My beliefs are a distillation of what I was taught as a child and what I observe as an adult.
Peter1469 (11-08-2014)
Senior Member
Yeah, Walmart shopping bags just ooze up out of the oil with no further refinement or manufacturing.
Senior Member
Why do you think an advanced nation banned hemp, even with unuseably low THC content?
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To placate Big Oil....
ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
Senior Member
For the oil industry, the staus quo, the elite. Hemp could replace so many products and make things incredibly efficient, which is bad for alternative industries.
Consider Nikola Tesla, he discovered forms of energy and mechanical configurations that would have increased efficiency, decreased dependency of the individual, and replaced many products with fewer, same as the weed industry can do. In both cases, they were shut down because it is counter to the culture of consumerism and dependency that elite have inculcated.
"I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall it's buildings of concrete are, but rather how well it's people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man." - Chippewa
"They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds." Mexican Proverb
Peter1469 (11-08-2014)
Senior Member
Report projects 3 times the amount of plastic in the ocean in 10 years...
Ocean plastic could treble in decade
21 March 2018 - The amount of plastic in the ocean is set to treble in a decade unless litter is curbed, a major report has warned.
Plastics is just one issue facing the world's seas, along with rising sea levels, warming oceans, and pollution, it says. But the Foresight Future of the Sea Report for the UK government said there are also opportunities to cash in on the "ocean economy". They say this is predicted to double to $3 trillion (£2 trillion) by 2030. The report says much more knowledge is needed about the ocean. The authors say the world needs a Mission to "Planet Ocean" to mirror the excitement of voyaging to the moon and Mars. The Foresight reports are written by experts to brief ministers on medium and long-term issues of significance. This one has been signed off by ministers from four different departments as the authors emphasise the need for a joined-up oceans policy.
One of the authors, Prof Edward Hill from the UK National Oceanography Centre told BBC News: "The ocean is critical to our economic future. Nine billion people will be looking to the ocean for more food. Yet we know so little of what's down there. "We invest a lot of money and enthusiasm for missions to space - but there's nothing living out there. The sea bed is teeming with life. We really need a mission to planet ocean - it's the last frontier." Another of the authors, the chief scientist for the UK government's environment department Ian Boyd, agreed: "The ocean is out of sight, out of mind," he said.
He told BBC News: "There's a continuous process of exploring for new things to exploit in the oceans, and that's happening faster than we scientists can keep up with. My suspicion is legislation is also struggling to keep up - and obviously there are risks in that." He said offshore wind farms, oil industries and mining firms were spreading into unexplored areas. "Scientists need to get in there faster than the commercial people or at least at the same time - to put proper regulation in place to govern those industries." The report highlights many concerns, including the current worry about ocean plastic litter, which it forecasts will treble between 2015 and 2025. But it stresses that the ocean is being assailed from many different types of pollution - including run-off pesticides and fertilisers from farms, industrial toxins like PCBs, and pharmaceuticals.
The report projects an increase in the industrial capture of fish
The authors say if governments can identify ways of protecting biodiversity in the seas, there are riches to be harvested - including nodules of metals and possibly even cures for cancer. They predict that the biggest industrial growth in the seas will come from offshore wind, followed by marine aquaculture and fish processing. The report also projects an increase in industrial capture of wild fish. This latter suggestion alarmed Rachel Jones, a marine expert from London Zoo, ZSL. She told BBC News: "Given that 90% of global fisheries are either at or in excess of sustainable catch levels, I can't really see how they are going to expand capture fisheries."
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43477233
Chloe (03-22-2018)
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