tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post1961092527054146833..comments2023-07-15T05:32:20.508-07:00Comments on Frontiers of Zoology: The Plastic EatersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-54231743379710174272012-02-13T17:51:02.721-08:002012-02-13T17:51:02.721-08:00Why don't you email them up at Yale and ask th...Why don't you email them up at Yale and ask them about that?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-18492813557745456332012-02-13T17:40:41.642-08:002012-02-13T17:40:41.642-08:00Are those lenses glass or polycarbonate?Are those lenses glass or polycarbonate?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-36162926820488652252012-02-12T18:20:14.612-08:002012-02-12T18:20:14.612-08:00Thank you Will, that is exactly my point and so go...Thank you Will, that is exactly my point and so good of you to join in there!<br /><br />Best Wishes, Dale D.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-24781938065291475422012-02-12T17:57:25.150-08:002012-02-12T17:57:25.150-08:00I think we need to heed Julian Knight's counte...I think we need to heed Julian Knight's counterintuitive thought on refractory terrestrial plastic garbage. <br />If its buried leave it alone ( the unintended consequences of trying to degrade it may bring worse problems). If it can be recycled/reused - let's do it everywhere and really encourage industries in that direction.<br />But you're so right about the marine plastic situation - thousands of styrofoam particles in every cubic meter, 'islands' and windrows of polyethylene sheet, plastic bottles and orphan fishing gear caught up in the central gyres plus the new 'fronts' of floating debris in the Pacific - backwashed from the Great Tsunami of 2011. It is catastrophic for marine ecosystems at all levels. <br /><br />However marine fungi are a very diverse lot ( but remarkably under studied) and perhaps there is some real opportunity to find species that could attack the problem of floating plastic and maybe even work with engineering the polyurethane-digesting, enzyme genes, of the Pestalotiopsis microspora and similar 'plasticophiles' .<br />In terms of giga-tonnage the CO2 and methane from oceanic plastic decay would effect pH only marginally.<br />But that question of toxic by-products must be answered right up front.<br /><br />There is a neat little article on marine fungi here:<br />http://deepseanews.com/2011/08/marine-fungi-are-totally-badass/<br /><br />Best regards .Will HansenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-13508188520017025312012-02-12T17:28:24.753-08:002012-02-12T17:28:24.753-08:00Silly question. Why then of course you do without...Silly question. Why then of course you <i> do without</i><br />Like the next question a few years down the road "How am I to run my auto with the petrol all out" to which the answer once again is, you <i>do without</i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-64181169428338765632012-02-12T17:24:09.656-08:002012-02-12T17:24:09.656-08:00What if it goes wild and finds that the polyuretha...What if it goes wild and finds that the polyurethane tubing and electrical insulation in my car or house is just as tasty?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-80269181930029593652012-02-12T13:37:58.311-08:002012-02-12T13:37:58.311-08:00My understanding is that there are organic byprodu...My understanding is that there are organic byproducts that can be more easily broken down through natural means as the outcome. I have seen no reports that actually give specifics or chemical formulas for the process.<br /><br />Best Wishes, Dale D.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-9059658591866628212012-02-12T13:11:48.722-08:002012-02-12T13:11:48.722-08:00what are the exact byproducts? any toxic? some fun...what are the exact byproducts? any toxic? some fungi release toxic excrement. can the cure be as bad as the illness?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-19133567835610126842012-02-12T07:08:23.184-08:002012-02-12T07:08:23.184-08:00Unfortunately the worse problem is that plastic fr...Unfortunately the worse problem is that plastic fragments have badly disrupted the oceanic food chain because various living things are trying to eat it and dying afterwards. We have got to get rid of those plastic chips in the ocean ASAP, and forget about the other consequences. The situation is just that bad, we should never have allowed it to get to this much of a problem.<br /><br />Best Wishes, Dale D.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-73620368273128709552012-02-12T06:41:29.300-08:002012-02-12T06:41:29.300-08:00Hi Dale,
While we should be thrilled by the powers...Hi Dale,<br />While we should be thrilled by the powers of fungi as environmental cleaners (see the works of independent scientist Paul Stamets e.g. 'Mycelium Running') , we should remember that intractable plastic waste is, nevertheless, a form of sequestered carbon. When fungi breakdown plastic they either set its carbon on the path back to CO2 (aerobic) or methane (anaerobic). Julian Kirby of Friend's of the Earth, pointed this out, saying" ........ because it is inert in landfill, plastic waste buried in the ground is a counterintuitive way of "sequestering" carbon so avoiding it adding to global warming and climate change."<br />I saw this in a rather useful article full of nuggets on global recycling statistics. It's at ..... http://mg.co.za/article/2012-01-06-drowning-in-a-sea-of-waste/<br /><br />Cheers ....Will HansenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com