Week 7 - Plastics

During this week’s lecture, we got the opportunity to listen to a lecture by Dr. Gimzewski that revolved around plastics and microplastics and the long lasting effects they have on our environment. According to Dr. Gimzewski, plastics can be categorized into four different types: microplastics, nanoplastics, mesoplastics and macroplastics. As he mentioned, microplastics are extremely harmful to the environment for many reasons. “As their name suggests, microplastics are tiny plastic particles less than five millimeters in size. These pieces range anywhere from about the diameter of a grain of rice to where they need to be seen under a microscope” (Shemitz). It is fascinating to see how something so small and can barely be seen by the human eye can have such terrible effects on the environment. It is fascinating to think how much damage plastics, even ones that are not visible to the human eye, can have such tremendous impacts and effects on the environment. In addition to simply harming the environment, microplastics can also harm marine animals due to how small they are. “The team estimates there are 24.4 trillion pieces of microplastics in the world’s upper oceans, with a combined weight of 82,000 to 578,000 tons - or equivalent to roughly 30 billion 500-ml plastic water bottles” (“Twenty-Four Trillion Ocean Microplastics and Counting”). A few main points that Dr. Gimzewski talked about/mentioned the fact that roughly 91% of plastic is not recycled. In addition, “Most monomers used to make plastics, such as ethylene and propylene, are derived from fossil hydrocarbons. None of the commonly used plastics are biodegradable.” According to emagazine.com, the main reason why recycling plastics is a farce and most of the plastics end up in landfills is because there is not enough government funding to provide such services. It was extremely interesting and informative to listen to Dr. Gimzewski speak about plastics and the negative long lasting effects they have on our environment. 

In addition to Dr. Gimzewski’s lecture, I also watched the Ted Talk titled “A brief history of plastic.” “The word ‘plastic’ can describe any material made of polymers, which are just large molecules consisting of the same repeating subunit” (Ted Talk). A few examples of polymers include nylon, polyethylene, polyester, Teflon and epoxy (“Natural vs Synthetic Polymers”). In addition to learning about what the word plastic meant, I also learned about a new material called celluloid (which is made from cellulose). “Celluloid, the first synthetic plastic material, developed in the 1860s and 1870s from homogeneous colloidal dispersion of nitrocellulose and camphor. A tough, flexible, and moldable material that is resistant to water, oils…” (Celluloid). Although celluloid was first used to create plastic and so on, it was later discovered that it is extremely flammable and they needed to use new materials to create plastics.

I believe that completely figuring out a solution for our plastic epidemic is extremely difficult to accomplish. However, through educating people and reducing our plastic production and use, we can greatly alter the direction of this issue. We have seen progress through the use of paper bags and straws instead of plastic ones. Over time, we need to constantly educate ourselves and others around us that this is an issue we need to control and if we do not, it will cause great harm to our environment. 

After meeting on zoom, our class then met in front of the Broad Arts Center to look at an art exhibit created by Bobby and Bomi. They were able to project images on the walls as well as hang other images that portrayed underrepresented communities and individuals. I really enjoyed the art and the exhibit simply because it was very unique and I was able to learn about the process, how they created this and so on. In addition to that, they were extremely open to advice/other things that can help them improve their exhibit. Below are a few images of the exhibit!

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Works Cited: 

“Celluloid.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/technology/celluloid.

Shemitz, Leigh, and Paul Anastas. “Yale Experts Explain Microplastics.” Yale Sustainability, 1 Dec. 2020, https://sustainability.yale.edu/explainers/yale-experts-explain-microplastics.
 
“Twenty-Four Trillion Ocean Microplastics and Counting.” Applied Sciences from Technology Networks, https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/twenty-four-trillion-ocean-microplastics-and-counting-355279#:~:text=The%20team%20estimates%20there%20are,500%2Dml%20plastic%20water%20bottles.
 
University, Carnegie Mellon. “Natural vs Synthetic Polymers - Gelfand Center - Carnegie Mellon University.” Natural vs Synthetic Polymers - Gelfand Center - Carnegie Mellon University, https://www.cmu.edu/gelfand/lgc-educational-media/polymers/natural-synthetic-polymers/index.html#:~:text=Examples%20of%20synthetic%20polymers%20include,%2C%20DNA%2C%20cellulose%20and%20proteins.
 
“Why the Recycling Farce Doesn't Have to Continue.” Emagazine.com, 21 May 2021, https://emagazine.com/why-the-recycling-farce-doesnt-have-to-continue/.