optimistic engineer tackles peak plastic

via as usual lovingly
from the new inquiry

its an article worth reading
because partly
what we think of when we think peak oil
because partly unflaggably
optimisic engineer

says rather than handwring
over plastics death
undeath redeath whatever
consider
alternatives that already exist
natural gas for example

TM: I wonder how much time that really buys us.

DC: That’s a bit of an open question, but probably a decent amount.... But really, this is an opportunity to think about what should be made of plastic, and why.

yes plastic
is a recent invention
we overuse it too

DC: A good example is switching disposable cutlery to bioderived, compostable plastics — there’s really no reason why something that has a functional life measured in minutes needs to be made of something like polystyrene that essentially lasts forever.
buried in plastic forks
up to our eyeballs
as ive said
dinosaurs revenge

so she says
lets use nature
duh

DC: ... feeding bacteria the waste material from palm oil production and having them synthesize biodegradable polymer.
although i think my friends
rainforest action network
might take some issue
with that one in particular

then naturally the threedee
object printer hubbub

are we looking at a world full of “crapjects”? I think the evolution of printing and photocopying might tell us something about the evolution of 3-D printing. 

i love it
crapjects
as if
stuff weve already got
is renowned for its utility

other natural solutions
inspirations include
every fascists second
favorite insect next to ants

DC: One of my side projects is looking at a type of plastic made by the Colletes family of bees.

fig12 that was no human bee

that ones pretty promising

DC: It’s possible that our material environment will look exactly the same after we run out of oil. But I think it’s far more likely that we’ll see a range of new polymers, that do a better job of filling niches.
i envision
a world of polymers
biosynthetics
a new logic of materials
hence commodities
architecture
community planning
an alien animal world

with the same unflaggable human
heart

progress narrative
always so exciting
on the horizon
banal & disappointing
when its realized
at least so far
constrained in
capitalism

yours for the revolution
forbidden books