[Biosphere Collapse] 420 days of blazin' it

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > [Biosphere Collapse] 420 days of blazin' it

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(Thread IKs: Stereotype)

SKULL.GIF: Jan 20, 2017

CODChimera posted:

so like what is the plastic inside of us doing to us?

what if it's changing us? and we end up with mutants running around. could get to tick off another apocalypse type though.

why is this not more of a big deal

mass endocrine/hormonal disturbance leading to cancer, obesity, etc. you name something that "naturally" happens to people as they get older and there's a strong chance plastics are accelerating that

you know how people talk about "oh science says that's unhealthy too. seems like they say everything is unhealthy doesn't it? *laugh track*" turns out when plastic is in everything, everything is unhealthy

# ? Dec 9, 2021 16:19

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# ? May 26, 2024 02:00

Car Hater: May 7, 2007; wolf. bike.
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CODChimera posted:

so like what is the plastic inside of us doing to us?

what if it's changing us? and we end up with mutants running around. could get to tick off another apocalypse type though.

why is this not more of a big deal

If i had to guess, the biggest effect will be on gut bacteria/GI issues, but who knows I'm not a biologist

# ? Dec 9, 2021 16:20

Zodium: Jun 19, 2004

CODChimera posted:

so like what is the plastic inside of us doing to us?

what if it's changing us? and we end up with mutants running around. could get to tick off another apocalypse type though.

why is this not more of a big deal

i love my tupperware brain.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 16:22

Hubbert: Mar 25, 2007; At a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/07/disastrous-plastic-use-in-farming-threatens-food-safety-un posted:

Disastrous� plastic use in farming threatens food safety � UN

Food and Agriculture Organization says most plastics are burned, buried or lost after use

Damian Carrington Environment editor

Tue 7 Dec 2021 13.00 GMT

Farmers cover a field with plastic films in Yuli county, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northern China. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

...

The �disastrous� way in which plastic is used in farming across the world is threatening food safety and potentially human health, according to a report from the UN�s Food and Agriculture Organization.

It says soils contain more microplastic pollution than the oceans and that there is �irrefutable� evidence of the need for better management of the millions of tonnes of plastics used in the food and farming system each year.

The report recognises the benefits of plastic in producing and protecting food, from irrigation and silage bags to fishing gear and tree guards. But the FAO said the use of plastics had become pervasive and that most were currently single-use and were buried, burned or lost after use. It also warned of a growing demand for agricultural plastics.

There is increasing concern about the microplastics formed as larger plastics are broken down, the report said. Microplastics are consumed by people and wildlife and some contain toxic additives and can also carry pathogens. Some marine animals are harmed by eating plastics but little is known about the impact on land animals or people.

�The report serves as a loud call for decisive action to curb the disastrous use of plastics across the agricultural sectors,� said Maria Helena Semedo, deputy director general at the FAO.

�Soils are one of the main receptors of agricultural plastics and are known to contain larger quantities of microplastics than oceans,� she said. �Microplastics can accumulate in food chains, threatening food security, food safety and potentially human health.�

Global soils are the source of all life on land but the FAO warned in December 2020 that their future looked �bleak� without action to halt degradation. Microplastic pollution is also a global problem, pervading the planet from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest ocean trenches.

The FAO report, which was reviewed by external experts, estimates 12.5m tonnes of plastic products were used in plant and animal production in 2019, and a further 37.3m in food packaging.

Plastic is a versatile material and cheap and easy to make into products, the report says. These include greenhouse and mulching films as well as polymer-coated fertiliser pellets, which release nutrients more slowly and efficiently. (lol lmao)

�However, despite the many benefits, agricultural plastics also pose a serious risk of pollution and harm to human and ecosystem health when they are damaged, degraded or discarded in the environment,� the report says.

Data on plastic use is limited, it says, but Asia was estimated to be the largest user, accounting for about half of global usage. Furthermore, the global demand for major products such as greenhouse, mulching and silage films is expected to rise by 50% by 2030.

Only a small fraction of agricultural plastics are collected and recycled. The FAO said: �The urgency for coordinated and decisive action cannot be understated.�

Prof Jonathan Leake, at the University of Sheffield in the UK and a panel member of the UK Sustainable Soils Alliance, said: �Plastic pollution of agricultural soils is a pervasive, persistent problem that threatens soil health throughout much of the world.�

He said the impact of plastic was poorly understood, although adverse effects had been seen on earthworms, which played a crucial role in keeping soils and crops healthy.

�We are currently adding large amounts of these unnatural materials into agricultural soils without understanding their long-term effects,� he said. �In the UK the problems are especially serious because of our applications of large amounts of plastic-contaminated sewage sludges and composts. We need to remove the plastics [from these] before they are added to land, as it is impossible to remove them afterwards.�

As a solution, the FAO report cites �the 6R model� � refuse, redesign, reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover. This means adopting farming practices that avoid plastic use, substituting plastic products with natural or biodegradable alternatives, promoting reusable plastic products and improving plastic waste management.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 16:31

iKon: Oct 4, 2000; CAN'T TEST
WON'T TEST

CODChimera posted:

so like what is the plastic inside of us doing to us?

what if it's changing us? and we end up with mutants running around. could get to tick off another apocalypse type though.

why is this not more of a big deal

Biosphere Collapse: why is this not more of a big deal

# ? Dec 9, 2021 16:51

actionjackson: Jan 12, 2003

I'm guessing that if you couldn't have plastic in groceries stores, processed food wouldn't exist (which would be a good thing anyway)

for produce, it almost never needs to be in some sort of packaging, except maybe berries because of how small they are

for dairy, you could use glass for everything

for meat, as mentioned wrap it in paper and tie with a string like in the old days, you would buy at a meat counter directly

# ? Dec 9, 2021 16:55

FUCK COREY PERRY: Apr 19, 2008

quote:

Global soils are the source of all life on land but the FAO warned in December 2020 that their future looked “bleak” without action to halt degradation.

hmmmmm sounds unprofitable to do something about how about we don't

# ? Dec 9, 2021 17:01

petit choux: Feb 24, 2016

silicone thrills posted:

we used hot sterilization on glass and metals for basically anything that needed to be super clean.

People brought their own cups and spoons and poo poo in those igloo lunch boxes with their lunches and poo poo.

The whole single use plastics industry was wholey invented out of loving thin air 60 years ago. It's kind of impressive how loving fast we adapted to it.

Yup, I'm nearly 60 and when I was a boy I looked forward to when a container from the kitchen would go empty so I'd have something to play with. Nowadays I do a quick survey of the kitchen where I grab all the disposable containers at once and either trash them or put them in the "recycling." Of course my dad was a Foxfire Books kind of hippie-ish guy so we never ever got with the world of disposable everything.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 17:56

petit choux: Feb 24, 2016

JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:

the hardest part of a race is the finish, but I believe we can do it

Almost there! Almost there!

# ? Dec 9, 2021 17:59

Mayor Dave: Feb 20, 2009; Bernie the Snow Clown

actionjackson posted:

I'm guessing that if you couldn't have plastic in groceries stores, processed food wouldn't exist (which would be a good thing anyway)

for produce, it almost never needs to be in some sort of packaging, except maybe berries because of how small they are

for dairy, you could use glass for everything

for meat, as mentioned wrap it in paper and tie with a string like in the old days, you would buy at a meat counter directly

Berry flats do just fine made from cardboard

# ? Dec 9, 2021 18:07

LibCrusher: Jan 6, 2019; by Fluffdaddy

I wanna donate my body to science so they can just liquefy me and centrifuge all the plastic out and weigh it. I bet it�s a lot.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 18:20

Torpor: Oct 20, 2008; .. and now for my next trick, I'll pretend to be a political commentator...

HONK HONK

I�m guessing grocery stores are not as big of a contributor to plastic pollution as one might think compared to covering millions of acres in plastic every year and other uses.

packaging is 42% of plastics which includes consumer grocery store products but also includes things you could easily dispense with like plastic bottled water. whereas fuckloads of clothing is almost entirely plastic derived. nobody is gonna be happy with a �make clothing more expensive� platform.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 18:35

Kicked Throat: Apr 12, 2005

Sometimes I'll buy weed on the street and it'll be dimed out in the small ziploc bags. I always bring my empty little baggies back to my guy when I get more and we joke about saving the planet.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 18:40

IAMKOREA: Apr 21, 2007

Torpor posted:

I�m guessing grocery stores are not as big of a contributor to plastic pollution as one might think compared to covering millions of acres in plastic every year and other uses.

packaging is 42% of plastics which includes consumer grocery store products but also includes things you could easily dispense with like plastic bottled water. whereas fuckloads of clothing is almost entirely plastic derived. nobody is gonna be happy with a �make clothing more expensive� platform.

If clothing didn't loving fall apart instantly i would be okay with it being more expensive, like significantly more expensive, but i also post on cspam and read this thread and the COVID thread so I'm a loving broke brain who is totally out of touch and um not sure where I'm going with this

# ? Dec 9, 2021 18:40

BaldDwarfOnPCP: Jun 26, 2019; by Pragmatica

Torpor posted:

I�m guessing grocery stores are not as big of a contributor to plastic pollution as one might think compared to covering millions of acres in plastic every year and other uses.

packaging is 42% of plastics which includes consumer grocery store products but also includes things you could easily dispense with like plastic bottled water. whereas fuckloads of clothing is almost entirely plastic derived. nobody is gonna be happy with a �make clothing more expensive� platform.

nestle^ get's you coming and going

it's scrumptious

also we could go back to all bespoke clothing, your clothes for goin' outside would be as much of an investment as say, your phone

you have a backup set but the more mended they get the more your credit rating drops until you can't qualify for a new job and well you die in the gutter but you look pretty classy

# ? Dec 9, 2021 18:45

Just a Moron: Nov 11, 2021

What if we simply wear less clothes?

The right to public nudity is an environmental issue at heart.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 18:54

BaldDwarfOnPCP: Jun 26, 2019; by Pragmatica

you're born naked and you die naked

# ? Dec 9, 2021 18:56

fits my needs: Jan 1, 2011; Grimey Drawer

CODChimera posted:

so like what is the plastic inside of us doing to us?

what if it's changing us? and we end up with mutants running around. could get to tick off another apocalypse type though.

why is this not more of a big deal

children of men was a documentary

# ? Dec 9, 2021 19:01

Epitope: Nov 27, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Kicked Throat posted:

Sometimes I'll buy weed on the street and it'll be dimed out in the small ziploc bags. I always bring my empty little baggies back to my guy when I get more and we joke about saving the planet.

Black market dealers are legit the most conscientious individuals I have had the pleasure of interacting with. Like, make their own shoes to avoid supporting sweat shops. gently caress the war on drugs, obviously, but also gently caress Capital swooping in and "civilizing" this sector.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 19:25

Femur: Jan 10, 2004; I REALLY NEED TO SHUT THE FUCK UP

Thats cause they do a lot of waiting. If you lower worker hours, qlot ofstuff will work out. Ants do this.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 19:38

Perry Mason Jar: Feb 24, 2006; "Della? Take a lid"

Epitope posted:

Black market dealers are legit the most conscientious individuals I have had the pleasure of interacting with. Like, make their own shoes to avoid supporting sweat shops. gently caress the war on drugs, obviously, but also gently caress Capital swooping in and "civilizing" this sector.

This week I ordered a half ($125) from my dude and when I showed up he said oh the strain you want I have an ounce left of it so do you want to take the full ounce for $150 instead? I said oh poo poo hold on let me check... okay I have $146. Done deal.

A dispensary would never.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 19:55

Cloks: Feb 1, 2013; by Azathoth

Zodium posted:

i love my tupperware brain.

pressing around the top of my skull to get a tight seal

# ? Dec 9, 2021 20:51

Lost Time: Sep 28, 2012; All necessities, provided. All anxieties, tranquilized. All boredom, amused.

Torpor posted:

I�m guessing grocery stores are not as big of a contributor to plastic pollution as one might think compared to covering millions of acres in plastic every year and other uses.

packaging is 42% of plastics which includes consumer grocery store products but also includes things you could easily dispense with like plastic bottled water. whereas fuckloads of clothing is almost entirely plastic derived. nobody is gonna be happy with a �make clothing more expensive� platform.

We could just go back to hemp, where it's not only more environmentally friendly but also cheaper.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/how-sustainable-is-hemp-clothing/

quote:

First things first, hemp is not marijuana. Marijuana, as we all probably know, is a drug that contains THC, while hemp is its plant sibling that has been used since 10,000 BC as food, medicine, rope, clothing, and anything else that could be made from durable, fibrous stalks. While they come from similar plants, you cannot get high from a hemp plant.

As a biofiber, hemp fiber is completely natural and biodegradable. That means when a hemp shirt eventually ends up in a landfill, it will start breaking down relatively quickly. The world is slowly coming to the realization about how virgin plastic in clothing is harming oceans and filling landfills, so developing biofibers like hemp is essential to redefining the fashion industry.

Hemp is also hypoallergenic, antiviral, antibacterial, and antimicrobial. This is great for the consumer but all cheaper and safer for farmers since they don�t need to buy and use fertilizers and pesticides. On top of that, hemp strains with tall fibrous stalks and fewer flowers have been developed to optimize yield!

As of today, the main growers of hemp are Europe, Canada, and China, but there is still so much progress to be made with using hemp for clothing. How exciting!

Hemp has the potential to be more sustainable than cotton when mass-produced. It requires less water to grow, and when turned into fabric, is more insulted, water-absorbent (to keep you dry!), and generally more durable.

It�s also economically viable because it�s a high-yield crop. That means you get more fiber for the same amount of land. As populations grow and cities stretch into the countryside, space efficiency will be more important than ever before.
While most crops rely on rich fertile land for a successful harvest, hemp can grow are unfertile land and generally requires less energy to produce a healthy plant. This means that fertile land can be used to grow food instead of being taken over by the fiber industry.

The really great news is that hemp farming, if given the right attention, can meet high global demands. Tools and methods for higher quality hemp have become available, but the entire hemp fiber industry still has a lot of growing to do. Hemp�s future is very promising!

# ? Dec 9, 2021 21:58

Torpor: Oct 20, 2008; .. and now for my next trick, I'll pretend to be a political commentator...

HONK HONK

I am not going to hold my breath waiting for something to help the environment and that is also true of hemp textiles

# ? Dec 9, 2021 22:01

BIG HEADLINE: Jun 13, 2006; "Stand back, Ottawan ruffian, or face my lumens!"

Nowadays holding your breath is a prudent way of forestalling the inevitable taking in of more microparticles.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 22:05

Xaris: Jul 25, 2006; Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

Torpor posted:

I�m guessing grocery stores are not as big of a contributor to plastic pollution as one might think compared to covering millions of acres in plastic every year and other uses.

packaging is 42% of plastics which includes consumer grocery store products but also includes things you could easily dispense with like plastic bottled water. whereas fuckloads of clothing is almost entirely plastic derived. nobody is gonna be happy with a �make clothing more expensive� platform.

yeah that your dried pasta came in some plastic, or you put your sandwich in some clingwrap for a few hours, is probably not that big of a 'deal'

that said always the fundamental thing that breaks down materials is heat and time. heating microwaved plastic stouffer poo poo is not good. drinking out of a plastic water bottle that's been roasting in the sun for the last 9 months is also bad for you

but, a large portion also comes from cars and in particular tires. you're putting yourself inside like a 6x6' box filled to the brim of plastic dashes that are getting cracked and faded under the sun and huffing it. you're driving tires that are largely synthetic that grind to a fine pulp spewing poo poo into the air. your clothes are constantly shedding but of it will end up in the waste stream when you wash it at least (and dumped into the ocean)

# ? Dec 9, 2021 22:16

skooma512: Feb 8, 2012; You couldn't grok my race car, but you dug the roadside blur.

Perry Mason Jar posted:

This week I ordered a half ($125) from my dude and when I showed up he said oh the strain you want I have an ounce left of it so do you want to take the full ounce for $150 instead? I said oh poo poo hold on let me check... okay I have $146. Done deal.

A dispensary would never.

My dispo would, but this place is a low key storefront who's name I still haven't even picked up on. Everything is dank af and they would absolutely cut you a break on the oz. Hell, they sold me an oz for 50 bucks and it wasn't all just shake.

# ? Dec 9, 2021 22:24

Oxxidation: Jul 22, 2007

most so-called �natural� fibers are actually rayon composites and regardless the processes needed to make them into textile products are incredibly pollutive no matter the source

you can�t cleanly make consumer products anymore, there�s just too many people

# ? Dec 9, 2021 22:37

Cold on a Cob: Feb 6, 2006; i've seen so much, i'm going blind
and i'm brain dead virtually; College Slice

Oxxidation posted:

you can�t cleanly make consumer products anymore, there�s just too many people

woah woah woah there buddy, can't have any of this "malthusian" talk

# ? Dec 9, 2021 22:45

Cold on a Cob: Feb 6, 2006; i've seen so much, i'm going blind
and i'm brain dead virtually; College Slice

if we just keep plowing forward i'm sure science and industry and democracy will save the world from us

:rubby:

# ? Dec 9, 2021 22:46

Lostconfused: Oct 1, 2008

iKon posted:

Biosphere Collapse: why is this not more of a big deal

# ? Dec 9, 2021 22:48

biceps crimes: Apr 12, 2008

Cold on a Cob posted:

woah woah woah there buddy, can't have any of this "malthusian" talk

1 billion Americans

# ? Dec 9, 2021 22:48

goochtit: Nov 2, 2021

gay_crimes posted:

1 billion Americans

Bumper to bumper traffic from sea to shining sea :911:

# ? Dec 9, 2021 23:00

God Hole: Mar 2, 2016

gay_crimes posted:

1 billion Americans

oh there's gonna be a billion americans pretty soon but prob not the kind matty had in mind

# ? Dec 9, 2021 23:22

Conspiratiorist: Nov 12, 2015; 17th Separate Kryvyi Rih Tank Brigade named after Konstantin Pestushko
Look to my coming on the first light of the ~~fifth~~ ~~sixth~~ some day

Car Hater posted:

If i had to guess, the biggest effect will be on gut bacteria/GI issues, but who knows I'm not a biologist

There are a dozen other possible causes and that might be working in tandem, but endocrine disruptors seems a compelling culprit for the dramatic reduction in sperm counts that's been observed over the past few decades.

# ? Dec 10, 2021 01:18

petit choux: Feb 24, 2016

Conspiratiorist posted:

There are a dozen other possible causes and that might be working in tandem, but endocrine disruptors seems a compelling culprit for the dramatic reduction in sperm counts that's been observed over the past few decades.

You mean it wasn't tofu and the effeminization of the western man by Marxists?

# ? Dec 10, 2021 01:24

actionjackson: Jan 12, 2003

IAMKOREA posted:

If clothing didn't loving fall apart instantly i would be okay with it being more expensive, like significantly more expensive, but i also post on cspam and read this thread and the COVID thread so I'm a loving broke brain who is totally out of touch and um not sure where I'm going with this

you can definitely find clothing stores that are REALLY nice, and have very high quality stuff

# ? Dec 10, 2021 02:53

Conspiratiorist: Nov 12, 2015; 17th Separate Kryvyi Rih Tank Brigade named after Konstantin Pestushko
Look to my coming on the first light of the ~~fifth~~ ~~sixth~~ some day

petit choux posted:

You mean it wasn't tofu and the effeminization of the western man by Marxists?

The problem turns out to be Capitalism.

# ? Dec 10, 2021 03:38

petit choux: Feb 24, 2016

Conspiratiorist posted:

The problem turns out to be Capitalism.

The problem turns out that primates don't make very good hosts for intelligence.

# ? Dec 10, 2021 03:47

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# ? May 26, 2024 02:00

Hubbert: Mar 25, 2007; At a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

petit choux posted:

The problem turns out that primates don't make very good hosts for intelligence.

iKon posted:

Biosphere Collapse: why is this not more of a big deal

# ? Dec 10, 2021 03:58

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > [Biosphere Collapse] 420 days of blazin' it

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