Wall-E: biodegradable plastics, waste management, and space cattle
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Space settlement
The economics of leaving Earth. Settling the inner and outer solar system. The Expanse. Space cattle and other space resources (water, mineral).
Garbage – in spaaace!
Garbage in space aka space junk. Cleaning up space junk. Giant nets as a major cleanup strategy.
Garbage – on Eaaaarth!
Modern waste management. What to do with municipal solid waste. Leachate. The difference between dumps and landfills and the interesting energy-reclamation technology involved in cutting edge WTE facilities.
Plastic
Massive plastic appreciation. How plastics ushered in the modern world. A lament for wasteful use of “disposable” plastic products. Microplastics in the water. Biodegradable plastics. The discovery of plastic-eating bacteria. Speeding up nature to digest plastic now. The coming plague of plastic-eating bacteria.
“De-evolution”
This isn’t a thing! There’s no end point that is being retreated from – life just adapts to pressures, ongoing.
Handling failure
Revisiting our past failures. Combating cynicism by just kind of ignoring it.
Links
Wall-E: iTunes | Amazon
The Water Fountain You Pee In: YouTube