Microplastics

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You can convert plastics back into the oil that they were made from using microwave radiation of particular wavelengths (and power). Ever notice that if you heat a plastic dish in a microwave time and time again, it will tend to degrade? This is due to the energy absorbed by the chemical bonds causing them to break down. That can be a source of microplastics in our systems.

Over a decade ago, a Japanese researcher built a microwave converter (using 50 microwave generators) to do just that on purpose. It was not economically feasible to use, as it cost $18 per liter of oil recovered at the time just for the energy it consumed. The cost has come down considerably, but it is not something that you will likely have in your house anytime soon. When people say that we are almost out of oil, I laugh because we have so much plastic that can be converted back. It just costs too much to do so. Maybe someday...

I have a collection of amber with trapped items in them. Insects are easy to find in amber, so I no longer bother looking for those. My favorite to find is ancient spiders, as I have two of them. I do not know if they are from an extinct species or not. They are fully preserved by the amber down to their hairs. I know in China around 2016 that they found part of a preserved dinosaur tail in amber that had feathers still attached.

BTW - The amber room from the Russian czar has not been found yet. It was captured by the Germans during WWII and taken away to be a war prize. It was likely either destroyed in an attack or buried in a way that it will not be found. Amber can be burned if heated high enough, as it has high carbon content (like plastics). The estimated value of the room is in the billions of dollars of today's money. Irreplaceable is the word I use for that room, as the amber was of very high quality.

"YAwwwwnnn....I dont bother with them if they only have six legs. They have to have eight legs for me to keep 'em."

Where do you ...stumble over so much ancient amber (that it enables you to be so blaze' and picky about collecting it)?

Gimmie ...some of those insects that you reject! Would LOVE to have some of em!.

Yeah...ive read about how the occasional vertebrate animal got trapped (like small lizards or frogs). And I think I saw that article about the small piece of dinosaur tail. Thats awesome that we now can see feathers on a non avian dinosaur.

Tucson mineral show is a great place to find included amber pieces. I know a few of the amber dealers that attend that show. Sometimes they let me dig in their rough at their shops before they take it to the show. It is not cheap if you want the best amber. My collection is not that big, probably a pound or so. I even have some blue amber pieces from the South China Sea area. They are fluorescent under a UV light to give a bright blue.

"Scientists discover concerning material hiding inside human hearts: ‘Measures should be taken to mitigate exposure’"

There are parallels between climate change and microplastics
https://www.wired.com/story/the-micropl ... lly-worse/

As with carbon emission getting worse (not better), plastic production is still increasing in the developing world because it is cheap and they have no other option.

Humans have set themselves up for a dystopian future environment here on earth.

"Researchers make disturbing discovery while analyzing samples taken from the Great Lakes: ‘We know we are being exposed’"

One only has to step onto any beach resort in Asia to see the impact of plastic
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/plastic-p ... -each-day/



It is a lost cause, and microplastics are entering the food chain via sea food.

"Scientists discovered a common bacterium that can ‘eat’ plastic whole — and the breakthrough could be game-changing"

Let's hope this works out.

"Scientists make jarring discovery while analyzing coastal waters: ‘We were really surprised that nobody had reported this before’"

I was never a sports fan, anyways.

"Wildlife officers make disturbing autopsy discovery after euthanizing sick bear: ‘It’s a call we wish we never had to make’"

It doesn't help when celebrities popularise the use of plastics in clothes
https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat ... nner_made/

"Nations gather in Nairobi to hammer out treaty on plastic pollution"

"Researchers develop sponge that could soak up as much as 90% of microplastic from our water: ‘We don’t have to wait…’"

I notice the article doesn't seem to foresee running the oceans through the sponges, however.

Yeah this is great. My grandparents were poisoned by lead, my parents were poisoned by asbestos, and I'm being poisoned by microplastics. It's so wonderful to be alive.

Why don't water/soft drink companies switch to paper juice instead, like the packaged juice? So a paper box can hold acidic juice well yet can't hold water?

Forget it, the world is doomed anyway because of climate change and WWIII and pandemics, what's the point of even trying to change anything anymore? In real life evil always wins.

I'm surrounded by plastic toys and figures I collect, so I'm probably poisoned beyond help like the world is.