Our oceans have learnt how to EAT PLASTIC!

[@doremiancleff1508]

Right, when bacteria start eating plastic, everyone think it's really cool, but when i start eating paint, everyone think i am stupid.

[@dotdash2284]

I don't think you're stupid

[@cadetaylor8512]

You're loved by all of us paint drinkers

[@hawgslam4]

Theres a reason why the most intelligent dont fit in with the norm. Dont stop being you

[@netshaman9918]

When they start to eat you Bank card , il will be problematic...^^

[@myth-termoth1621]

If it has a lead based pigment it will reduce your intelligence, yes.

[@custos3249]

Really not surprising every time this happens. When lignin evolved in trees, they became the plastic pollution of the epoch until an organism evolved to break it down and use the energy ancient trees put into creating it in the first place.

[@kmo9790]

Thanks for the coal lignin.

[@safetyegg6953]

man sometimes the world is just so cool

[@joelbolduc3354]

I think the surprise is that we assumed this evolution took millions of years, but perhaps it happened a lot faster after all...

[@steinh04]

This is a good parallell (or analogy) and well observed. This theory about lignin is highly contested though. An alternative explanation for sequestration of fossil carbon is simply that some conditions usually swampy or submerged, anoxic or very dry, make full decomposition impossible not just millions of years ago, but even now. Fungi did break down and decompose lignin very early on, but only in moderate conditions with adequate humidity and available oxygene. The rest got sequestered as coal via geological processes.

[@Cs13762]

100% of the man-made plastic on the planet is made of those exact same molecules of lignin!

[@exciting-burp]

The irony is that because we haven't given a damn, we have eliminated one of the major benefits of plastic: it doesn't decompose.

[@chudchadanstud]

Well there goes my classic console.

[@whiteingale]

@@chudchadanstudmetal is not Plastic. What console do You have? 😅

[@tfive24]

​@@whiteingalemajority of game consoles are made of plastic, not the machine parts, but the covers.

[@Fuscao_Preto]

​@@whiteingaleI wonder what PCBs are made out of. 😂

[@philiptaylor7902]

Much the same story with anti-biotics

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

Imagine everything suddenly going back to being made of wood because it doesn't degrade as fast as plastic.

[@the-letter_s]

finally, a return to wooden furniture on firearms. less effective in almost every way? yes, but it looks better, and soon it'll last longer.

[@ConcernedCitizenPDX]

​@@the-letter_sAgreed, I think the all black and plastic looks tacky

[@maxvanandel1454]

@@the-letter_s leave them iron xD

[@1001-i4y]

@@the-letter_sAnderson manufacturing is trying to patch up the trash they make

[@mrrp405]

Hopefully this is a reminder towards continuing to reduce our plastic usage rather than an excuse to continue producing them

[@FreedomTalkMedia]

If it solves the primary problem with plastic, why call it an excuse? Maybe it Is a solution.

[@desperado3347]

@@FreedomTalkMedia because its far too unstable and early to assume that this is going to be enough, and even then oil is a limited resource and we should be looking for alternatives anyways or we are going to face a very, very rude awakening when we run out of one of the primary resources that our society runs on

[@bartomolev6682]

​@@FreedomTalkMediait is not a solution. It's a get out of jail free card and chance for us to fix our fuck up.

[@ktushy4727]

@@FreedomTalkMediayou really don’t want plastic to rot, yes it’s good if the waste plastic rots, but imagine devices, wraps, and other stuff that you want to stay rot away from

[@o-mangaming5042]

@@desperado3347 Oil isn't as limited as you think. California's been working for over a decade on a bacteria that breaks down farm waste into crude oil. It's not a question of if it'll work, it's a question of when they'll create a facility big enough to grow enough of the stuff. And then it'll get out. And eat all the grass and crops. And then we'll be in for a world of hurt.

[@MrMackB]

The title is going to be the newest excuse of Big Plastic's justification for continued plastic production

[@chesterfinecat7588]

You have to have a growing plastics sector for a thriving GREEN energy economy and push to 16 billion sexy dressed humos.

[@milo-qh7cv]

funny plastic is fully needed for the so called green economy scam

[@monkemode8128]

Isn't the primary concern that these will last forever in the environment?

[@lacethefirebender2099]

“This just in, scientists reveal plastics to actually be a beneficial source of nutrients for microbial life, big plastic states it was all on purpose and absolutely intended”

[@monkemode8128]

@@MrMackB but genuinely as much harm as the plastic industry is doing/has done in the past and how that's bad morally, if plastic becomes biodegradable why wouldn't that be a justification for plastic? When I see biodegradable I see it as a benefit. I'd say it depends on how fast and what the side effects are (for example, toxins being leached into the environment or it taking 500k years instead of 5 million). I'm not knowledgeable on the topic, but it seems good on the surface from an ecological standpoint. I'm open to hearing the thoughts of people more knowledgeable though. Perhaps for the moral issue we should transfer the wealth or something? Maybe it'll solve itself in a generation when the current big plastic execs die and new ones who were born when these microbes did exist come in. Personally I don't care as long as the effects are gone but I know I have a weak sense of justice compared to a lot of people.

[@chahahc]

There's enough mutation in the microbes in our colon that every time we take a dump, somewhere in there is a new genome. It was only a mater of time before the microbes evolved the ability to digest these organic polymers.

[@Stalkerrob20]

after all evolution always happens for a reason

[@trailingupwards]

Super, digest them into what? Probably molecules which are as, or more, toxic than the plastic was originally, that's what. And no, evolution doesn't "always happen for a reason", but thanks for playing.

[@TheKlink]

@@Stalkerrob20 lots of genetic handshakes going on

[@veganpotterthevegan]

​@@TheKlink that or promiscuous debauchery

[@rtqii]

@@veganpotterthevegan Sometimes they eat their neighbors and some DNA escapes digestion.

[@dominictarrsailing]

a big part of what makes plastic so useful is that it doesn't rot, which is a simple way of saying "fungi can't eat it" so on the one hand it looks like this would solve the ocean plastic problem... but it could also create a problem of things rotting that we don't want to rot!

[@cyko5950]

the fungi doesn't digest plastic quickly so for the most part the plastic will last as long as it needs to before being reduced to carbon dioxide in 5 years time. however more co2 emissions is not what we need right now

[@obsidianjane4413]

There are many different types of plastics, which each requires different enzyme "keys" to unlock. It is also possible to add fungicidal chemicals to the plastic etc. Much less of a problem than the video presents.

[@CampingforCool41]

I don’t think we have to worry about plastic rotting for a very long time.

[@kimdavis2433]

Maybe one day we'll have to treat the plastic we want to keep around with fungicides. Still a better problem to have I think

[@tylerwhitcomb4428]

​@@cyko5950 doesn't fungus eat at our oxygen ?

[@corbbing]

"Degrades clothing in minutes..." Imagine that the seas are swarming with this fungi, and you enter the ocean to go swim.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

Minutes, you say? It couldn't be an aerosol, could it? Asking for… Just asking.

[@rrtttfthxg2143]

Yeah totally considering %80 women are made outta plastic they’re at risk

[@alexanderlagare1802]

Hell nah​@@davidwuhrer6704

[@Puhapamacslucy]

​@@davidwuhrer6704oh heck no, that sounds horrifying

[@infotraverser]

I might have to go to the beach to see if that will be true for Education Purposes

[@greatcondor8678]

The real problem is using massive amounts of plastic in packaging. There is no reason a screwdriver needs to be packaged in plastic.

[@thisismyyoutubehandle]

They do that to stop a certain group of people from stealing it

[@hijjak97]

@@thisismyyoutubehandle Argh, those dang builders!

[@monthlywaffles]

Well, you can blame the robbers for that.

[@k90v85]

​@@monthlywafflesidk if plastic stops theives

[@mrfrog0913]

​@@k90v85 What about turtle thieves?

[@dacharyzoo]

When, not if, plastic begins to rot like wood, modern living is in for a rude surprise.

[@xertris]

Makes sense though. If plastic doesn't rot. Why wouldn't we have seen more natural plastic in the world thats been there for 1000s of years.

[@luipaardprint]

@@xertristhat’s not really what OP meant, and also seashells exist. Not a polymer, but a non-degrading tool.

[@RegularTetragon]

​@@xertris cellulose in plants is a naturally occurring polymer

[@havencat9337]

WHY patent something this crucial for our planet? first of all this process was done with things that the nature does

[@ericparker163]

"Honey, the TV dissolved again........"

[@TheKobiDror]

It just shows us again that life always finds a way.. Yes, it's an unused resource and in nature nothing gets wasted.

[@nozrep]

Jurassic Park!!🎉

[@Pharozos]

A preliminary study just dropped at the same time as this. Turns out we might be able to mass produce graphene for energy storage by microwaving waste plastics. The irony if waste plastic turns out to be our next gold rush. I hope its right. Either way I think most of us would be happy to not have this in our bodies or the food we eat.

[@templeofdelusion]

@@Pharozos plastic is likely the least dangerous foreign particle in human body.

[@SuperGuy250]

@@templeofdelusion you will be surprised what it does

[@NoobieToob]

@@SuperGuy250 Honestly, I don't think there's much proof of anything, just tons of hypotheticals. Plastic itself is inert and doesn't really react much to anything, microplastics are hypothesized to have some harmful properties due to their small size but nothing is conclusive yet.

[@juhak27]

Micro- and nanoplastics are already everywhere, not just in the oceans, and they seem to accumulate in the brain. A new study found that human brain tissue contains about 0.5% of plastic! And this was in random (deceased) people in New Mexico, not some fishing village. The article is called "Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in Decedent Human Brains Assessed by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry".

[@chesterfinecat7588]

Is that the same author as "Outgassing impacts of 2 billion sudden expirations among bipedal apes?" Brilliant assessment of methane burps from supply chain interruptions and induced need to bomb more.

[@chudchadanstud]

aren't atoms just a few nanometers? does this really matter?

[@Stardog32]

​@@chudchadanstud0.5% of the brain (and likely rising) is a lot...

[@juhak27]

@@chudchadanstud The plastic particles that the study found in the brain tissue are described like this: "Shard-like appearances, with dimensions ranging from micrometer to nanometer sizes". Nobody knows what are the long term effects of having around quintillion of those in your brain.

[@Jackattaque]

paper isn't peer reviewed. it holds no certifiable merit at the moment

[@LordZoth6292]

I love the Ocean Cleanup Crew. They are working harder than ANYONE in the world to remove plastics from the oceans and waterways.

[@ilikecookies9796]

Which, ironically, is now depriving oceanic lifeforms of food. (No disrespect btw. Just an observation of the changing times.)

[@LordZoth6292]

@@ilikecookies9796 nah I'd rather less plastics in the water and we kill some microbe that eats plastic, than eating fish filled with micro plastics. I do understand where you're coming from tho 😀

[@ecstxs]

@@ilikecookies9796fair but there is so much plastic in our oceans that i doubt it would have an affect on those organisms for a long time

[@Jorda5s]

Mr beast did it first

[@muzvid]

In the mid-70s I read a sci-fi disaster novel in which scientists developed a microbe that broke down plastic, only to have it begin removing the insulation from electrical wires, wreaking havoc in cities around the world.

[@frankfriedlos3721]

And there was a BBC drama series called Doomwatch that had an episode along these lines.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

​@@frankfriedlos3721The novel was written by the same guys who wrote that episode. There's also The Andromeda Strain, book and film adaptation, that starts with something similar.

[@kostarak3160]

So what you saying is that we must make it airborne and realease it over major cities.

[@joehopfield]

For the fishing gear uses, we've used biodegradable natural fibers for our entire history as a species. Maybe just use jute/hemp/etc instead of creating pollution then trying to clean it up (poorly)?

[@jabezcrisp7899]

Hemp has multiple other uses at different parts of its life cycle, too. Hemp is used to clean toxic water on brown sites, Hemp cotton is a rising contender because it can grow anywhere and doesn't have the same water intensity for production - several birds could be killed with a single stone, there. Legalising it for consumption would also knock County Lines flat, so it's a bit depressing that we see no progress on it

[@danyoutube7491]

People will argue that you won't be able to have strong enough rope to make the huge nets they have now, which is true, but we cannot afford to keep fishing the way we do anyway because we will run out of fish.

[@koori049]

⁠@@danyoutube7491Strong enough rope isnt the issue. The western commercial fishers are not as a rule the ones dumping nets in the ocean. Poor fisherman in third world regions can save labour by using plastics that last much longer than natural fibers. Saving labour in one place means they are able to produce more food for their families. You wont be convincing them to produce less food and let their families starve for environmental benefits. Most western nations have strict limits on fishing put in place by fishermen who want the industry to be sustainable. Once they have the means to feed their families easily they almost always start thinking about long term sustainability.

[@dustinherk8124]

its a war of choice. plastics, means significantly lower co2 emissions compared to organic and biodegradable counterparts. bags, polymer clothing etc take significantly less co2 to produce a usable product. the down grade is its final product will take hundreds of years to fully break down. organic materials will have a much shorter end of life cycle, but will increase the rate of global warming to produce compared to a similar polymer product. Which problem is more important right now? global warming, or micro plastics that are affecting the sterility rate of several million males of countless mammalian species?

[@jabezcrisp7899]

@@koori049 It comes back again to the fact that the main issue we have is inequality. Individuals with the wealth of nations vs poor people who struggle to put food on the table. Sad that such misery is a result of policy, really

[@Nick-rs5if]

Plastics are materials marketed as single-use and disposable, while at the same time being some of the most durable and robust materials known to man. Some of the first plastics ever produced are still in our environments today. Give that some thought. It really is a remarkable set of materials. Imagine if we, instead of producing and using it as single-use materials, could learn to use it as permanent solutions instead...

[@Cake-je1hu]

That not profitable for oil company or if all human have that mindset company gonna try hard to sell more of them

[@ImNotFine44]

You bear the mark of the outsider

[@CAMSLAYER13]

I'd argue its not really that worth as a material if you actually intend on handling the waste. Its not very hard-wearing and tends to get brittle over a relatively short time frame.

[@edgeribble]

@@Cake-je1hu Oil is literally in everything so the companies have lots of profit to spare. Also the same companies will probably buy all the companies producing plastic alternatives to retain their monopoly

[@StolenTheif]

You'd need to get greedy and profit driven humans to sacrifice their own gain for the benefit of others, and, especially in the world we live in now, even if people did they would be outcompeted by their contemporaries and not make a difference anyways

[@SupahGeck]

I've often thought this would be the case. There's a huge amount of a potential energy source just floating around, life was gonna find a way. I've often joked with my friends that because there's so much plastic around for life to experemint on, in 100 years microbes will eat our tuperware right out of our cabinents! Either way, I think it's in our best interest to reduce our plastic and petroleum product usage, and stop poluting in general. I could totally see some think tank taking my "eventually microbes will eat it all" joke and twisting it into a reason not to worry about the mess we're making.

[@williamgidrewicz4775]

Maybe there is a way to tweak that Nylon 6 catalyst so that it works specifically on various other types of plastics and other inorganic wastes! Perhaps by employing quantum dots and other strategic structures they can use it with ultraviolet light as optical coiled structures and enhance those processes!

[@Starclimber]

There's real horror story potential in those evolved plastic eating microbes of the future. First you notice your tupperware, then see your shower curtain is gone, and think to check on your car, which turns out to have no tires, and a closer look reveals the loss of everything plastic within, from controls to seat padding to seals and dashboard...

[@myradioon]

@@Starclimber Its a good horror movie.

[@catpoke9557]

​@@StarclimberRandom things that shouldn't rot, rotting, sounds like a Junji Ito story

[@waltbroedner4754]

@@Starclimber And...... then HOPEFULLY, the earth will finally realize that it is us, humans, who are the REAL parasite viruses and get rid of the problem.

[@jrodd13]

I'd laugh my ass off if a bacteria or fungi evolves to eat plastic, and then continues to destroy ALL plastic on earth, not just the garbage 😂

[@nigachu8249]

Poetic justice

[@blt4life112]

"The Earth's not going anywhere. We are!" G Carlin

[@normzemke7824]

Good news for a change! Then again, Mother Nature is the greatest recycler of all, so, of course, she evolves a bunch of microbes to clean up our mess...

[@draculakickyourass]

Don't be so happy....wait till they evolve and multiply all over the Earth,travvelling by winds and rain. When they will start consuming the cable isolators and poliethilene pipes of tap water....that will be the moment when the fiesta begins.....Also it will be so fun when the transport systems will crash,because the car/bus/truck/train/ ship/plane is seek,because it is infected with a bacteria,causing short circuits.....it will be a fun World to live in......no water,electricity,internet, transportation,agriculture= no food either.

[@chevyboyforlife4234]

Our mess? If mother earth didn't make crude oil the 2nd most abundant liquid on this planet then we wouldn't have this problem

[@adjacent-smith]

I've seen this anime. We refine it in a lab and it gets loose leading to an apocalypse as anything containing petrochemicals is destroyed 😄

[@cellP8]

Hope nature does not decide to erase humans one day…

[@crispy99996]

No bro human is part of earth either we are harmful or not

[@nil981]

Next thing we know, fiberglass boats will start being eaten by these microorganisms.

[@dominictarrsailing]

... or the paint that keeps steel boats from rusting

[@C0lon0]

Fiberglass don't have carbon, neither rust proof coating, plastics are basically hydrogen and carbon polymers.

[@troyschramii4828]

Maybe this organism was biogenetically engineered to eat the plastic and released from the lab into the ocean.

[@JoeBurner1720]

⁠@@C0lon0I remember hearing about how they found volcanic glass at the sea floor with evidence/signs of microbial activity. I know fiberglass isn’t exactly glass but it’s pretty interesting

[@bernarddavis1050]

@@JoeBurner1720 What you call fiberglass is actually reinforced polyester resin . The embedded fiber which provides tensile strength is 100 percent glass.

[@Dysputant]

Mother Earth is like: "Ok i waited for you to clean your room by yourself, now I will do it..."

[@lynxthewise7233]

[ proceeds to toss everything away ]

[@chudchadanstud]

​@@lynxthewise7233 Pretty much this, most PCBs are made of plastic. This will be very problematic if it lands on earth.

[@chevyboyforlife4234]

If mother earth didn't want use to have or use crude oil then it wouldn't be the 2nd most abundant liquid on this planet

[@guardiantree8879]

@@chevyboyforlife4234Magma 👀

[@guardiantree8879]

@@chevyboyforlife4234Wait actually it’s water lol

[@govenormayor87]

Aircraft mechanic here. Most modern planes are made of “composites” now, which are high strength plastics because they don’t corrode like metal does, and it’s cheaper and stronger. People were saying that things will rot when we don’t want them to, and it seems that maybe our commercial liners will be next on that list!

[@WelcomeBhekumuziDewa-tq3rv]

The notion that "our oceans have learnt how to eat plastic" highlights a grim reality rather than an optimistic breakthrough. While there have been discoveries of microbes that can break down certain types of plastics, the vast amount of plastic pollution in our oceans remains a critical issue. This statement underscores the unintended consequences of human actions on the environment. Instead of celebrating the oceans' ability to cope with our waste, we should be alarmed at the scale of the problem and more committed than ever to reducing plastic use, improving waste management, and restoring our oceans' health. The real solution lies in preventing plastic from reaching the oceans in the first place, rather than relying on natural processes to clean up our mess.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

Why not both?

[@aziki001]

You can commit as much as you want, but until we start holding big corporations accountable, nothing will ever change. Do you know how much waste China and India produce on their own and they don't care one bit?

[@2nerC9]

Pointless comment

[@davidwuhrer6704]

@@aziki001 Holding corporations accountable is something we could commit to. China does. Meanwhile, the UK is dumping raw sewage into the oceans.

[@aziki001]

@@davidwuhrer6704 What do you mean China does? You think China who is building even more coal pants give a damn about their living enviroment? They are willingly poisoning their own people.

[@robertdavidson3090]

Well as a kid who grew up in the Chicago area it is great to see that Northwestern University has developed a process that may help us with the issues we face in our lakes and oceans.

[@maxheadrom3088]

Yay! Plastic eating bacteria/microorganisms! I'm sure that will cause no unforeseen consequence!!!

[@williamyoung9401]

It means we can keep dumping! Hurray! 🙃

[@Alte.Kameraden]

Rip any boat with plastic below the water linen or plastic base paints. 😂

[@fightingwolf18]

​@@Alte.Kameraden Boats are made of metal or fiberglass.

[@cellP8]

I hope it somehow creates zombies…

[@Bread8468]

@@Alte.Kameraden plastic boats?

[@anngodfrey612]

Excellent presentation, a tidbit of hope for an otherwise seemingly hopeless situation! Thanks Dave

[@FLPhotoCatcher]

Non-toxic bio-plastics are the solution. These new ways of breaking down plastic may well have unintended consequences. For example, breaking down nylon could (probably does) release any forever chems that may be in the nylon item (such as carpet). Forever chems are worse than just nylon, of course.

[@angrymurloc7626]

Honestly it's not hopeful to me. The plastics otherwise would have stayed a carbon sink. We should have Landfilled them uncontaminated before this happened, now we have another giant source of emissions on our hands

[@johnboluski-zl1qn]

Captivating and remarkably informative presentation. And, the praiseworthy bonus... no excessive gesticulating that other presenters inflict upon us! Well done.

[@lx2222x]

Everyone throwing trash into the ocean should be held accountable, including all the companies involved

[@chopsandarchie7015]

it's China and India that are the real culprits; it is impossible not to see it.

[@nelus7276]

Yes go tell the people in Asia and Africa. There's pretty good data on where plastic pollution comes from.

[@duckdeity9450]

@@nelus7276Before anyone calls this racist, here are the top 10 ocean polluting by country! 1. China 2. Indonesia 3. Philippines 4. Vietnam 5. Sri Lanka 6. Egypt 7. Thailand 8. Malaysia 9. Nigeria 10. Bangladesh

[@ChiakiClaire-qu6xi]

​@@duckdeity9450 well, most of those trash came from other countries. There are a lot of news containers came filled with trash.

[@Hekamiah112]

The companies don't force people to buy all the stuff. People choose to buy all the thousands things we do. Almost every item in the store... We all choose to throw it in the bin. All that in return is taken to a dump. What happens then, is is it up to me?

[@Psychx_]

Eucariots for the win! Fungi have so much more potential than bacteria when it comes to breaking down complex organic molecules due to having mitochondria (more paths for metabolism to take, different opportunities for catalysis, being able to invest larger amounts of energy upfront to initiate breakdown of their substrate), aswell as being able to produce more complex and varied enzymes.

[@samswann180]

Minor nitpick, I fully agree with you, but they're spelt eukaryotes owing to being a Greek word originally

[@Psychx_]

@@samswann180 TIL spelling. TYVM.

[@johnm2879]

We are all just waiting for the over-achieving fungus which can go airborne and eat any and all plastics and rubber in a matter of weeks.

[@andywilliams7989]

@@johnm2879 plastocolypse

[@samswann180]

Spores already light enough to go airborne lol, you constantly are breathing in fungal babies blown around by the wind

[@andywilliams7989]

The whole point of plastics was that they don't rot. Very handy for essentiels like mains water...if we provoke bacteria and fungi into eating them, we'll have to dig up all the roads AGAIN to change the pipes for something else. We should never ever have applied plastic to be single use, like oil, if we had just used it for stuff that was really hard to do...we wouldn't be in this mess.

[@obsidianjane4413]

If you have enough concentration of microbes in your water supply that they are attacking pipes, then you have bigger things to worry about than that, like cholera. Think more type less.

[@andywilliams7989]

@@obsidianjane4413 fungus would attack pipes from the outside. Try digging an old pipe up and changing one...really...you now look very stupid don't you

[@andywilliams7989]

@@obsidianjane4413 fungus would attack a pipe from the outside...dig more..type less.

[@Strange-Viking]

We did the same with asbestos, now thate been scaler down into where it is actually needed or where it works best. Same thing for lead

[@andywilliams7989]

@@Strange-Viking but we didn't provoke asbestos eating fungi and bacteria into existence...this is a really big problem and everyone seems so happy about it..we're going to be spraying fungicides and bleach on everything plastic to keep it from being eaten...

[@HelloItsMalk]

Earth really said: “Fuck it, I’ll do it myself” 💀😭

[@mjpfl8131]

Wonderful news! Thanks for this video! My husband and I spent 25 years developing ways to recycle plastics. My husband developed ways to extrude commingled plastics into big parts like parking lot bumpers and landscape timbers, but the market for the products wasn't there yet and eventually we retired. Since then, I've become very interested in demographics, declining birth rates and declining fertility. One of the possible culprits people are investigating is microplastics. There's a page about this on the CDC website. To be honest, I've been thinking this was an insoluble problem since microplastics are everywhere. The fact that these little eaters are plastic-specific is great. As the research progresses, I would think that there will be less microplastic. Eventually. I pray this happens. I'm old enough to remember a world without plastics. With plastics, a lot of things were better and easier. But the world pigged out on plastics and we really do need to reduce our consumption. A lot. As long as people keep buying, manufacturers will keep producing. Eventually, something will replace plastic. Don't know what or when, but I'm sure it will happen. However, every baby that isn't born represents the loss of all those future generations that are also never born. Many nations are below replacement rate. As far as I know, no one has definitively proven microplastics is a cause. My guess is it's a problem with many causes. However, even if there is no link, getting rid of as much of this waste plastic as possible is a blessing.

[@kurt7937]

as a complete layman, when the discussion pops up regarding fertility, i say food quality, maybe vaccines or general medicine, birth control has certainly been disasterous. i dont see how plastics cause damage inside a body, blocking things or carcinogens maybe? has fertility of aquatic life declined? i think declining birth rates is much easier, its simply socioeconomic, no?

[@DiscipleOfHeavyMeta1]

Once, the Earth didn't know how to eat lignin.

[@andywilliams7989]

@@DiscipleOfHeavyMeta1 and people back then we're moaning about all this single use wooden stuff just floating around and looking bad

[@inktea256]

Next it will need to figure out how to break down the worst human-made pollutant: Ligma.

[@kino9119]

@@inktea256 What is Ligma

[@Woozy.0]

​@@kino9119 ligma ballz

[@DiscipleOfHeavyMeta1]

@@andywilliams7989 Well there were no humans - or mammals altogether, but, lol.

[@louisegogel7973]

Awesome! May we work in harmony with nature as she responds to the things we do that are new and not as helpful as could be just yet.

[@Secretgeek2012]

This isn't working in harmony, this is nature's desperate attempt to remedy our poison.

[@dagtheking5739]

We are still in nature. Humans never escaped the wild life.

[@aalhard]

1:43 the part that's floating is literally the tip of the iceberg😮

[@aegis7843]

It does not exist

[@christopherwhitman5427]

Keep up your great work Konstentine. You are giving Russians much needed respect amidst a sea of chaos and doubt in the country and its people. You are important, helping us understand things more clearly. It is a mess... Love from Stockholm

[@andrewnelson254]

Thanks for this ray of hope, Dave! Appreciate all the digging you do.

[@MrAdopado]

It's useful to have some positivity around the topic of sustainability! Your prodigious output on this channel really is astonishing to me ... do you really not have a team of researchers pulling this stuff together? I recently did some delving into a topic of interest with the intention of simply collating some basic information ... and after a couple of days I discovered how painstaking and slow it can be! I then thought how the heck can Dave do all this kind of stuff and wrap it all up in a neatly summarised video complete with appropriate bespoke graphics every week! (Go on admit it, you've got half a dozen graduate students living in your shed who are only allowed out when they've come up with a new theme and have given you an outline of the next presentation.)

[@TheBricetune]

My thoughts exactly! Great research Dave, et.al

[@drillerdev4624]

Solving the plastic recycling problem is actually pretty easy 1 make 3d printers very cheap 2 make PLA rolls very expensive 3 promote "filament hacks" videos I call it the "hp solution"

[@luxraider5384]

or: the consumer has to stop buying non-reusable plastic. It requires little effort, but the impact is huge.

[@drillerdev4624]

@@luxraider5384 I was just joking, but if we want to get serious, I'm afraid we have to focus the produing companies, not the consumers. If they have to stop using plastic, we won't buy it

[@blanksilver3851]

I laughed way more than i should

[@luxraider5384]

@@drillerdev4624 nope it's the consumer that has to drive the demand, producers won't make smth that won't be bought.

[@drillerdev4624]

@@luxraider5384 that's why governments have to force the producers Back in the day, all bottles were glass ones, and reusables. Nowadays, you only find those in restaurants What can a consumer do if all companies use plastic, stop drinking beverages altogether?

[@petewright4640]

I once read a sifi storey where a civilization was in crisis because bacteria had evolved to destroy all the essential, previously un-degradeable, materials.

[@fintux]

This is actually the scenario I have been really afraid. Well, plastic is terrible for the environment and organisms, but plastic-eating micro organisms would be terrible for the mankind they would rot parts of our infrastructure like untreated wood left in rain.

[@philipwittamore]

I believe Larry Niven wrote about plastic bags being eaten off shop shelves in one of his books in the 70's

[@MrJay_White]

@@fintux undersea cables becoming a feast.

[@rendomstranger8698]

Not a realistic scenario. Plastic can degrade because it is organic. Any minerals that have survived life for the past several million years will continue to survive without any real issue. Additionally, there continue to be plenty of ways to sterilize things we don't want to degrade. Since there is no chemical reaction that cannot be stopped, there is no form of life that cannot be killed when properly sterilizing.

[@chesterfinecat7588]

@@rendomstranger8698 That makes absolute zero sense.

[@stevenlitvintchouk3131]

There was a science-fiction novel, "Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters," which was about a new mutant microbe that could dissolve and consume and metabolize plastic. Our society then learns the hard way: (a) how much we're dependent on plastic remaining stable; (b) how much plastic is used for electrical insulation, and after it disintegrates the wires are bare and short-circuiting, causing fires ; and (c) how the microbes' metabolizing plastic releases flammable gases causing explosions everywhere

[@ViralWinter]

This video is so dense with positive, hopeful, science-based information and well produced content. Insta-subscribed and shared! Looking forward to more!

[@MrSensible2]

Nature always finds a way! It's been over 40 years since I worked on an oil refinery but I remember we were alert to the problems which can be caused by sulphur reducing bacteria in crude & refined products. Most of our tankage had a relatively fast turnaround so the bacteria never got to enjoy the quiescent conditions they can thrive in. However I seem to recall reading somewhere that when the Soviet Union fell, they discovered horrendous problems with bugs in strategic military storage tanks which hadn't moved in decades.

[@gscsilvavaladares7065]

Okay , cool , nature can take care of the microplastics with just a little of our help , but this does not mean we shoud continue using plastics because if this fungus can break down plastics from the ocean , they can pretty much do the same with the plastics we are so dependant on , which is gonna be a real problem.

[@chefnyc]

Isn’t that what “people” want? Want us to stop using plastic? Seems like 2 birds with one stone.

[@Gelatinocyte2]

I can't wait for that crisis to eventually come up! Just imagine the planned obsolescence of cheap clothes and tools...

[@templeofdelusion]

@@Gelatinocyte2 if you aren't a NEET, you already switch clothes multiple times a year because stuff wears down fast.

[@Gelatinocyte2]

@@templeofdelusion I mean clothes breaking down even if you leave them in the closet/don't wear often enough! What are you on about, mate? Also, tools last for more than a year; they're practically with you for the rest of your life, unless you're somehow toying with it for every day of every month.

[@templeofdelusion]

@@Gelatinocyte2 I'm not a woman so I don't have clothes sitting and doing nothing for years, same with tools. I only buy what I need and actually use.

[@codetoil]

In my eyes, the development of plastic-eating lifeforms could be enough to take us out of the Cenezoic and into a new era. Even if humanity goes fully extinct and nothing else is left of our civilization, this will stay as a mark of our kind. The importance of this cannot be understated.

[@DukeofBlasphemy]

not really? eventually all the plastic will be consumed if the producers of it are dead and then those lifeforms will die off too. nothing exciting but ash and dust.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

Yes it can. There's this idea that plastic marks the anthropocene, a new fossil layer made up of forever chemicals. With these new developments, it seems more likely that humanity will be gone without a trace after all. Just like all the civilisations before us if there were any.

[@blacklight683]

Humans:(*cant clean the ocean*) Ocean:fine i'll do it myself

[@cjlg1822]

I work for a plastic seal company and the amount of plastics we make is ridiculous, and we’re considered a very very small operation. We’re actually working on creating a batch of biodegradable seals used for fishermen to break down faster in the ocean. These special plastics would have micro organisms that inhabit the seal and constantly break down the seal from the moment it’s made

[@rogerdeyell3429]

They also affect the endocrine system in animals and humans

[@talkingcowthatwasthereallalong]

Nature is like "Fine, I'll do it myself"

[@toxicscorpion5065]

Nature after Humans f***ed Up again: Fine i'll do it myself 🫰*snaps*

[@berylman]

That Yttrium Lanthanide catalyst great intrigues me. Great vid! Subscribed

[@mothwa]

So instead of telling people in-game to touch grass and stop drinking coffee from plastic containers, you can tell them to touch ocean?

[@georgelionon9050]

It was only a matter of time, unfortunately it also means it's only a matter of time the fungus gets so good until it decomposes stuff we don't yet want to. Like a teacher said back in the day, people complain about that plastic bag not degrading on the forest floor, but at the same time, we want that car not to degrade while we are still driving it.

[@doughboywhine]

Remember that as long as we use disposable plastic, it will accumulate in our bodies. While it is good (for the most part) that plastics will soon be able to leave the environment, The are still many ways for it to get trapped in the food chain

[@bkbland1626]

Nature's been around a looooong time. She's on it, but she takes her time.

[@bobcake8904]

The concern is that people will stop caring and use more plastic because “oh the fungi will eat it” and we continue to have the problem and overproduce what is eaten!

[@HelloItsMalk]

Ocean really said “Fuck it, I’ll do it myself” 💀😭

[@RoySATX]

To quote Ian Malcolm, "Life finds a way". Life on our planet is clever, experienced, adaptable, and hungry, it will find a way to extract energy from any plentiful source and plastic is indeed a plentiful source.

[@Янус_Ырт]

"Clever" "Experienced" Man, evolution is a random process, stop giving natural processes human traits, it's cringe

[@whiteingale]

its not clever. Its primitive

[@Kirbyexplosion]

@@Янус_ЫртHe said life, not evolution itself is clever..

[@LunarCascader]

A fungus that can eat plastic could prolly eat anything it wanted. I will definitely be going off grid now.

[@andywilliams7989]

@@LunarCascader don't. Trust me..being off grid requires loads of plastic. Just a simple watering can and some tanks and some pipes for ferrying water around..now probably going to rot in the ground. We are so fucked! Really. (I'm an off grid farmer)

[@evelynbrocious]

@@andywilliams7989 Lol I'm sure you're fine from an ocean fungus. You're not living off grid on the ocean are you? Also the video stated the fungus needs uv radiation degradation to even start consuming plastics. The study was done in a lab with perfect conditions for the fungus too so we really don't have anything to worry about from an ocean fungus eating plastic in the ocean

[@andywilliams7989]

@@evelynbrocious I suffer from long term thinking. You'll have to excuse me. 🤣 I'm not particularly worried about effects in my own lifetime, I just like voicing futility from a long term species point of view. When I see people celebrating this kind of info with 'mother nature is so strong' or 'i'm going off grid'...I do have the urge to add a comment.

[@jaybleu6169]

I once had a fish tank with a crayfish I caught in a creek, and a stick with a few zebra mussels on it from a nearby lake. At the time everyone was all "omg zebra mussels in the Great Lakes have no natural predators". I walked into the room one night and flipped on the light to find the crayfish prying open the zebra mussels and eating them. Nature finds a way. We, as humans, may not survive it, but the Earth will live on.

[@ERBanmech]

Hearing this kind of stuff is why I love science, would love to look into this stuff myself one day.

[@karlmccreight8172]

❤Thankyou soo much! A good meesage for a change! Lets just hope that nature will not erase us einher...!

[@dukesharingham]

I did my doctoral thesis on biodegradable plastics and the general degradation of plastics. We had already demonstrated clear signs of microbiological attacks on plastics over 25 years ago. And whether you like it or not (in fact I don't like it), the floating plastic islands in the world's oceans offer many organisms protection and a new habitat. Nature will utilise them and incorporate them into its cycle.

[@kezyka6775]

Hope we can also get some of these news for organisms breaking down PP (PolyPropylene) which is a super common plastic

[@andywilliams7989]

@@kezyka6775 yeah great idea...then all our water tanks and pipes and watering cans will rot...what an amazing species we are.

[@trailingupwards]

What do you think polypropylene breaks down into, Einstein?

[@andywilliams7989]

@@trailingupwards propy and Lene?? 🤣

[@jonathanodude6660]

@@andywilliams7989 we will just make something else 😂

[@MAL1GNANT]

​@@andywilliams7989... aldehydes.

[@GhostOnTheHalfShell]

Life will find a way to eat that stuff, just like wood or fruit go rotten.

[@mr.duck1248]

It is endlessly frustrating that these world saving technologies continue to be created and we just… don’t use them?

[@conchadeconchos]

I’ve had similar thoughts. Either life is about to explode in advancements like the computer. Or it was all bullshit for clicks on the internet.

[@nisamvise1724]

Finally. Havent watched the video but hopefully this news is true and not overstated and will lead to massive change regarding plastic pollution.

[@buildinganewworld2682]

Thank you for mentioning fishing nets!! Although our bottles and bags are a problem too, the vast majority of ocean plastic waste is from the fishing industry! They don't want you to know that!!!

[@Jake12220]

A lot of it is from the fishing industry, but l think you will find that most of it(at least in the Pacific)comes from a few Asian rivers. The messed up part is that a lot of it ended up in their rivers after being sent there from other countries to be recycled. The people would pick out the bits of plastic they could use and just dump the rest in places it would get washed away. So a lot of the plastic in the ocean is a result of our messed up recycling system that tried to export the problem instead of doing things properly and recycling it in our own countries.

[@buildinganewworld2682]

@@Jake12220 False. "STUDY IN ‘SCIENTIFIC REPORTS’ INDICATES 75% TO 86% OF GPGP PLASTIC ATTRIBUTABLE TO OFFSHORE FISHING AND AQUACULTURE ACTIVITIES"

[@buildinganewworld2682]

@@Jake12220 China has not accepted any recycling from the world for a number of years now. You are misinformed unfortunately.

[@IronDruids]

@@Jake12220 I'm glad someone is clarifying somewhat. If some country's fishermen are doing what they are supposed to then who are the ones doing it matters.

[@macmcleod1188]

See: "Mutant 59: The Plastic-Eaters" By Kit Pedler, Gerry Davis

[@jarikinnunen1718]

I did saw what happened to grass when used motor oil spill polluted it. First grass died. Next summer it was double high than grass in normal ground.

[@gshield3571]

Wait what

[@astrinymris9953]

This reminds me of an old science fiction novel titled 'Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters'. But in this story, the microbe's plastic-eating capacity was so fast that it was causing catastrophic mechanical failures as it ate the insulation off of electrical wiring and consumed structural components.

[@unlucky-777]

Imagine producing one of the most durable structure just to throw it to ocean

[@sieglindesmith9092]

Thanks for that, Dave. A little hope is better than none.

[@bretdaley6869]

Now they need to isolate an area in the ocean and test this fungus and make sure that it's not going to damage the life in the ocean also we definitely need definitely need to do something with the plastic but we can't just keep introducing things that just poison the fish more

[@RichD1]

Yeah but organism are going to adapt to this fungus, creating whole new ecosystems around it

[@lightningwight4154]

If the by-product is just CO2 it shouldnt hurt anything

[@dmitripogosian5084]

The first discussed fungus is already in the ocean, this is where it was harvested from

[@ledvapour6937]

A naturally evolved fungus already out there doesn't need to be quarantined and tested, and even if we wanted to, how would you ever contain such a thing.

[@fallencobra5197]

If it wasn’t engineered by humans it won’t be a danger to any large amount of life

[@pedromain]

10:03 is patented, we can expect this really coming to our lives in 40 years or more.

[@Jake12220]

It should come as no surprise that nature would lern to consume plastics, it's been breaking down all the oil seeping to the surface for millions of years now so it wasn't a big leap. There are now multiple types of enzymes and bacterium known to break down certain types of plastics, but sadly some will be a lot more difficult to break down than others.

[@Benjanuva]

I'm glad you brought up the problem of alternative materials. Plastics are easy to form, durable, and cheap to make. Its really hard to find other materials that can do as well as plastics in the categories that we care about the most. My personal recommendation is metal. Its more expensive to use, but we can definitely make it work. My secondary is wood, but thats a lot harder to form into whatever shape we want.

[@dmazeau]

If this works, then maybe the fact that there is so much plastic will help this fungi to thrive, and reproduce.

[@krslavin]

Could the fishing industry be required to register all plastic net purchases, and return old nets as a requirement for purchasing new ones?

[@chesterfinecat7588]

Not to worry. Most fish stocks are collapsing so fast there won't be a fishing industry. You'll have to eat steak.

[@manoo422]

All plastics could be easily dealt with at source via Hydrothermal Carbonisation turning them back into Carbon and crude oil...

[@snipeyounoobzyee2662]

There’s already a few microbiologists who’ve figured out how to break down plastic and have planned on releasing it into study groups but nature released it first

[@andycordy5190]

Indispensable to modern life, indeed. This is one reason why my enthusiasm for microorganisms which can consume plastics is tempered with concern for the longevity of components in our daily lives which we have developed to resist biological and environmental degradation in traditional materials like wood, plant fibre ropes, vulnerable car body parts etc. This catalytic process shows particular promise for the textile industry. Fingers crossed for that one.

[@karldavis7392]

I suspected this for a long time. Thank you for confirming it, and adding technical detail. People tried to find the plastic on the ocean floor a couple years ago, and the amount they found was very small compared to the amount of plastic debris known to be entering the oceans. The ocean environment is very harsh, with bright sunlight near the surface, salt water, immense pressure at the bottom, and all kinds of bacteria. It's not OK to litter the oceans, but "Ocean Cleanup" died more than than good and should go out of business and stop wasting diesel fuel. They can burn 200 tons of fuel, and come back with one ton of plastic, and then claim to have done something good.

[@fastkicksdefendhead]

They are doing a multi pronged attempt at reducing waste that enters the ocean. The garbage they remove from the ocean helps them learn were it is coming from which can lead to ways of reducing that waste. Also, the initial ideas are prototypes and over time they will improve for instance swap out their diesel ships with solar powered ones. One was fishing gear, while another was water coming from rivers which they have created interceptors to collect the garbage or work with the local government to reduce the amount of garbage that enters the river. Either way they are doing something which at the very least will inform other organizations and governments when they go to tackle waste in the ocean.

[@karldavis7392]

@@fastkicksdefendhead that's good to know, thanks

[@Youtubecensoredmyusername]

I get a scammy/money laundering vibe from those ocean clean up types

[@jordanbeagle5779]

@@KZbincensoredmyusernamemaybe your subconscious looking for an excuse not to help?

[@Youtubecensoredmyusername]

@@jordanbeagle5779 I have given my time in the past

[@pawelhyzopski6456]

That catalyst is one more reason why houses cannot be built from plastic.

[@chrisaguilera1564]

I don't think we've given nature itself enough credit to solve its own problems. Just because we may or may not see it on our lifetime does not mean there is no solution. Every chemical is a product of nature no matter how much we've manipulated it in its natural form.

[@templeofdelusion]

It's a problem in education and indoctrination. People don't seem to comprehend that CO2 benefits everyone, only spreading FUD about it, and inventing new forms of taxation for things that are self solving problems, yet nobody is worried about lead in petroleum and other wild shit lobbyists did. Lead collecting in everyone's brains doesn't help with general population IQ either. Mercury, Arsenic and various other metals in our fish? Nope, it's da heckin plastic and CO2 that's the problem. Oh and lets also ignore that nuclear power plants don't release toxic heavy metals into atmosphere the way coal plants do. For some reason lead vapor isn't taxed, only CO2 is.

[@nam-dm1ut]

Well it's never a matter of "will nature find a solution", it's a matter of "will nature find a solution before we make the planet unlivable for humankind".

[@mr.roblox9858]

What I’m worried about is the possibility that “Big Plastic” (and by extension “Big Oil”) will use this to push more plastic and stuff.

[@LoneWolf343]

Random abundance of inert material: *exists* Bacteria: "It's free food."

[@realmstupid-on8df]

Nature is patient but like my dog when I won't let her out to poop she's gonna open that door herself and take a shit.

[@tonysheerness2427]

Very dangerous, we will have to replace plastic window frame and doors every 5 years if these microbes multiply.

[@Freddisred]

At this point it's better than the alternative.

[@peter7582]

Window frames and doors used to be and often still are made from wood. Which decays. It requires treatment and replacing. Just something you have to live with

[@manuvillada5697]

Never heard of plastic window frames. It's always wood or aluminum where I live

[@tonysheerness2427]

@@manuvillada5697 In the UK it is plastic no maintenance windows and doors.

[@92814323]

To anyone who was hoping to use plastic for long term storage, this should be absolutely terrifying.

[@NakedAvanger]

I was literally depressed because of the direction our world was going until we learned about enzymes in college. That literally cured my depression.

[@Second_Library_of_Alexandria]

Humans: *Makes garbage patch* *Aliens Peek* Aliens: Yeah, drop that new bacteria here.

[@hamjudo]

[Edit: This thing I was taught 50 years ago is not true. Tire dust just gets distributed. Original incorrect comment follows:] In use, tire tread wears away as a fine dust. Since the particles are heavy, they settle out of the air quickly. Thus we would expect to see a thick layer of black dust along the sides of busy roads. We don't, because microbes have evolved the ability to digest tire dust. Or at least, that is what I learned in high school 50 years ago. Assuming that is true, we can also notice that intact tires don't get eaten away at a noticeable rate. That implies that the microbes can only eat tire rubber that has been turned to dust.

[@brucealanwilson4121]

So we should develop mutant strains that can do it faster.

[@Bigleyp]

Can I have a source on microbes eating it? All I can find is that it gets dispersed throughout the environment by wind and rain.and that’s why it’s not all piled on the road.

[@danyoutube7491]

@@Bigleyp I think you're right, it's a huge leap (and convenient for the collective human conscience) of logic to assume that it gets eaten up by nature just because we can't see it at the roadside in huge heaps.

[@sl0ls]

Yeah that’s not true. Though some microbes can breakdown rubbers, that’s not why you don’t see it. It’s just distributed throughout the environment

[@macmcleod1188]

If you Google, you can see that the tire dust makes up a large part of the plastic patch in the ocean.

[@lifeleisuresa1229]

CO2 is not an issue and should not be treated as such.

[@seekrengr751]

Quite true. Particularly CO2 that is already dissolved in the oceans. Turns out from a number of geological studies that an ocean-based carbon cycle exists that oceanic organisms, from single-celled organisms to corals to crustaceans and molluscs, remove dissolved CO2 from ocean water and produce calcium carbonate structures and shells. These sink to the ocean floor and become ophicarbonate rocks, which then by tectonic plate subduction are carried below crustal plates. Heat and pressure on these ophicarbonates over a period of time produces methane - i.e. natural gas. Some geophysicists estimate that these deep methane reservoirs may contain as much as 40% again as much as earth's present known reserves of methane. The reservoirs over time rise to shallower depths under continents where they can be tapped for energy. This is a continuous process, according to the geophysicists; meaning that methane may in fact be a renewable resource. The studies on which the theory were based are of the ophicarbonate rocks found in Italy, which gave clues about this possible carbon cycle. The theory is still only around 5 years old and many details are not known; but if true, it shows we still have a lot to learn about earth.

[@furblokeEN]

2:15 was your intro?? Are you kidding me, what is this, this is so funny to me lol wws that an especially long intro for the channel or was that average length?

[@SecretEyeSpot]

Iz this a ridicule or constructive critique?

[@furblokeEN]

@@SecretEyeSpot it is a both

[@ctvxl]

The major countries of the industrialized world need to get together and ban all non-biodegradable single use plastic immediately. Single use plastics can be made from hemp quite economically at scale. They are biodegradable and robust.

[@Jeru3]

Just realising how simple life is evolving so fast, it happens before our eyes. Way more amazing than the infinity of space imho.

[@Jeru3]

One of these days, these things will develop in a way that makes life for humans unbearable. Maybe viruses we can't get rid of or something.