Truths and tradeoffs surrounding plastics; how geoscientists are innovating around plastic pollutions; and Cate asks several geos how they celebrated Earth Day.
This past Monday, people all over the world celebrated Earth Day 2024 with the theme ‘Planet vs. Plastics.’ Let’s explore the impact of this petroleum-based invention and how geoscience is addressing the worldwide issues it’s created.
Plastic: The Facts
LIFE Magazine, 1955
Plastic was once hailed as a miraculous material, but as more and more is produced, we’re faced with balancing its undeniable usefulness with the damaging impact it has on our planet and health.
Plastic’s origins:
Plastic emerged in the early 1900s with Bakelite, the first synthetic resin. Over a century later, 99 percent of plastics are derived from petrochemicals, a product of oil and natural gas.
Modern technology has boosted production with inventions of more versatile materials used almost everywhere in our lives. However, meeting the demand for diverse plastics is not without costs…
Environmental and health impact:
The overabundance of plastics poses serious environmental issues. They take centuries to degrade, cluttering landfills and ecosystems.
Chemical additives such as phthalates, BPA, and BFRs, although linked to a plethora of health risks, are still widely used for their flexibility and flame resistance.
Microplastics are a macro-issue. They’ve invaded global ecosystems by entering the food chain—they’re literally in our blood for crying out loud! I want to scream whenever I remember that!
The bottom line: As we reflect on the legacy of plastics, we see that their usefulness comes with environmental and health impacts, highlighting the pressing need for sustainable alternatives—and innovations.
Fighting Plastic Pollution with Geoscience
Ocean Cleanup
Geoscience is turning the tide on plastic pollution with smart, sustainable innovations, from groundbreaking methods to capture microplastics, to advanced techniques that monitor our oceans.
Geochemistry in a ferrofluid breakthrough:
In 2019, Fionn Ferroia, an Irish teen, won the Google Science Fair with his innovative idea to remove microplastics from water using ferrofluid, a substance made from magnetite powder and oil.
This magnetic fluid engulfs suspended microplastics and allows them to be removed with a magnet. His tests, demonstrated and explained in this video, reached 87 percent effectiveness!
Pedology in biochar for water and soil:
Biochar is a charcoal-like substance created through pyrolysis of plant waste, mainly used for soil enhancement and carbon storage. Its porous nature is also proving effective in water treatment, removing up to 92 percent of microplastics.
Additionally, when used in contaminated soils, biochar has been found to reduce the impact of microplastics on plants and microorganisms, promoting healthier plant growth.
GIS in tracking garbage patches:
Plastic trash, pushed by winds and currents, eventually accumulates in ocean gyres, creating oceanic garbage patches, the most notable being those in the Pacific Ocean.
By integrating satellite imagery and ocean current data, researchers can use GIS to map these patches, monitor changes over time, and identify sources of debris.
Dive deeper:
Learn more about the plastic crisis from geoscientists from the American Geosciences Institute’s Earth Day 2024 webinar.
Innovations like these are also being covered in another AAPG newsletter, Enspired, which is currently doing a series about water cleanup technologies!
A message from AAPG and Geothermal Rising
Speaker Spotlight
Geothermal, Lithium, Hydrogen: New Energy from Subsurface Fluids Conference
Join AAPG and Geothermal Rising on 6-7 June as geothermal, critical minerals, and gases are brought together to explore the connections between them, either in the formation of the reservoirs or reserves, or in exploring for, evaluating, and producing them.
I reached out to geoscientists on Instagram to hear what they did on Earth Day. Some worked, some went outside, and some got to do both, but all of them contributed to improving the world through their passion for geoscience.
Jayden, Legacy Contaminated Sites Project Officer
Jayden oversees the restoration of legacy landfills near Sydney, Australia. On Earth Day, his team broke ground on bush regeneration at a recently restored landfill, which will see 3,700 native plants reintroduced to the once-degraded landscape.
Not only do native plants help reduce erosion, outcompete weeds, and contribute to ecological biodiversity, Jayden says “it also looks nicer than just plain grass.”
Phoebe, Environmental Geoscience Student
Phoebe spent Earth Day collecting data to produce an environmental impact assessment of the northern Mathiatis copper mine, located on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
Mathiatis has been mined since 600 B.C.E. and boasts other ores such as silver, gold, and iron. Phoebe’s university is one of more than 30 that are internationally studying the mine.
Adam, Environmental Compliance Manager
Adam helped set up early systems to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAs) from landfill waste before it gets sent to public water treatment plants, and eventually surface water.
These substances usually end up in the water due to negligence within the plastic and chemical industries. Adam also stresses the societal need for better materials management practices, and I couldn’t agree more!
The bottom line:
Geoscientists see firsthand how much harm is done to the environment—many jobs in this field exist solely because the land and water are so polluted!
Somehow, it’s all up to us to assess a problem, undo the damage, prevent it from happening again, AND fight to convince people there is indeed a problem. That’s insane!
For this edition, I wrote all the other content before soliciting the above contributions. That section was meant to be a lighthearted piece to follow all the sobering information about plastics … Instead, I heard from people who are directly responding to the environmental damage done by humans. It was a pleasantly ironic surprise that fit in just perfectly with this Earth Day message.
On a lighter note, I watched a fantastic movie the other night that’s also complementary to Earth Day. If you’re a fan of 70s flicks with not-so-subtle environmental undertones, you aught to watch ‘Godzilla vs. Hedorah.’ It was a real hoot, complete with a rubber-suited smog monster and super groovy dancing.
I hope you all had a great Earth Day and spent it doing good things for the planet, or otherwise reflecting on how much you value it: from the mountains to the seas, and all the rocks in between. Lastly, thank you to all the wonderful geoscientists who sent in contributions—you guys are the real geo-heroes!
Cate Larsen
Editor, GeoLifestyle
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