July
@july
plastic gets a bad rep but its actually an amazing technology
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Draiælle
@drai
It makes modern medicine possible, but it's a Faustian bargain if we can't truly recycle it effectively
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tyler ↑
@trh
Hard disagree. I’d suggest it’s the other way around, that it would be a far greater mistake if we *didn’t* apply our knowledge of plastic in such live-saving ways despite long-term uncertainty about what to do with it. “We can’t use this technology to save your life because it ends up in a landfill” is a dark take. By the way I am 100% in favor of materials innovation, replacing plastic with hemp, corn, paper, etc —when parity allows. I’m not necessarily pro-plastic, but i am pro humanity.
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Draiælle
@drai
Oh I think we should use it, just why aren't we patching it's weaknesses? I just fail to see how recycling doesn't seem like a true solution, and everyone is okay with it, does the coming (and present) flood of ever more plastic shards/molecule chains in the environment not worry you at all? Feels like the leaded gas argument, a little
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Draiælle
@drai
I mean I suppose natural selection might help us out once plastics are a plentiful "food source", but what's the timescale on that?
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tyler ↑
@trh
Very much agreed with "patching its weakness" and that it's important (potentially revolutionary), though I don't put quite the same priority & severity of consequences on it (perhaps naively!).
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Draiælle
@drai
Yeah, I'm constantly reminded how much there is to know, I feel (and am) naive quite often
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