Tom
An Old Friend
Plastic-Munching Bacteria Could Save the Planet : DNews
Gray Goo Scenario: In a common practice, billions of nanobots are released to clean up an oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. However, due to a programming error, the nanobots devour all carbon based objects, instead of just the hydrocarbons of the oil. The nanobots destroy everything, all the while, replicating themselves. Within days, the planet is turned to dust.
Slight permutations of initial conditions can lead to unforeseen and profoundly negative downstream effects
I am wary of announcements like this. Bacteria are living organisms that reproduce and have waste. Their waste is in turn consumed by other organisms that reproduce. There is abundant food on the panet to create many reproductions. I can see this getting away from us easily.
There are many reports of species being introduced to an ecosystem where the result was not what was expected. Normal balances are upset and a crisis evolves over time.
We have the technology to recycle plastics. We have the technology to recycle just about anything. We are lazy and stingy so we try to find something that does it for us without any cost or effort on our part.
Technology has a way of slapping us silly over a small mis-step or ignorance of a related condition.
Will this be the trigger to a radical change for life on this planet?
Will we humans doom other lifeforms by our own ignorance?
Quick-fixes often lead to catastrophic conditions.
What are your thoughts?
Now, researchers in Japan have discovered a new kind of bacteria that can break down one common form of plastic into its chemical building blocks, a discovery that could save landfill space, oil and energy consumed in plastics manufacturing.
Gray Goo Scenario: In a common practice, billions of nanobots are released to clean up an oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. However, due to a programming error, the nanobots devour all carbon based objects, instead of just the hydrocarbons of the oil. The nanobots destroy everything, all the while, replicating themselves. Within days, the planet is turned to dust.
Slight permutations of initial conditions can lead to unforeseen and profoundly negative downstream effects
I am wary of announcements like this. Bacteria are living organisms that reproduce and have waste. Their waste is in turn consumed by other organisms that reproduce. There is abundant food on the panet to create many reproductions. I can see this getting away from us easily.
There are many reports of species being introduced to an ecosystem where the result was not what was expected. Normal balances are upset and a crisis evolves over time.
We have the technology to recycle plastics. We have the technology to recycle just about anything. We are lazy and stingy so we try to find something that does it for us without any cost or effort on our part.
Technology has a way of slapping us silly over a small mis-step or ignorance of a related condition.
Will this be the trigger to a radical change for life on this planet?
Will we humans doom other lifeforms by our own ignorance?
Quick-fixes often lead to catastrophic conditions.
What are your thoughts?