Plastic isn't 'bad' or 'good' - it is a both wonder material, strong, light and resistant (hence why it lasts) and without it we wouldn’t have a lot of things we rely on everyday. The problem is our over-use and poor disposal of it, which isn’t so wonderful
The clothing industry accounts for 10% of global CO2 emissions a year – making over 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 – more emission than all the planes in the world combined. Clothing also consumes thousands of litres of water and tonnes of energy and non-renewable resources, too.
In the past many scientists and economists presumed we were purely rational beings, self-promoting our own interests with perfect knowledge of the consequences of our actions. These assumptions are really influential: many world governments rely on our self-interest and perfect decision-making to change our behaviour, hoping rational arguments and penny-savings will alter our trajectory towards crisis.
A study in 2017, trying to understand why and how microplastics are getting in the marine food chain, found that when coral were offered plastic, sand and bacteria-covered plastic + sand they actually preferred the naked-plastic. They even retained the plastic for longer compared to the other food. They suspect that some types of plastic contain chemicals which stimulate the corals - which are tiny animals related to jellyfish - to feed. Or in other words, plastic is tasty for corals.
Biomining also could be cheaper and greener than traditional mining, using less water and emitting less CO2 than conventional crushing, heating and chemical processes. Biomining works at much lower temperatures and pressures than normal techniques reducing the electricity bill and resources used to get the metal out of the rock.
