Why don’t we take a look at how the plastics industry handled the public? Here’s Climate Town (YouTube link).

People who think companies like the Ocean Cleanup will solve the problem annoy me.

Yet another technological antisolution. I’ve posted it before but it’s just a perennial concept.

Then don’t use them

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle isn’t a joke, and is in order of what should take precedence. And as for plastic recycling, text.npr.org/…/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into… (tl;dr it’s total bullshit. it’s expensive to do, and recycled plastic is worse and more expensive than virgin plastic. It probably cannot even handle two recycles before becoming totally worthless, that’s how crappy recycled plastic is)

The dumbest part is how we are disallowed from reusing many things. One small example out of a limitless number: Every time I buy milk I have to buy a brand new plastic container, because that is the only way I can purchase it. And it is the exact same as the old kind of plastic container. I can’t just go to the store and pour a refill and pay for that.

So, the author’s preferred solution apparently involves completely overhauling our society, down to the mindsets and living conditions of every single person. (Note that this would goes beyond even the usual canard of “overthrowing capitalism”; socialist countries have historically polluted just as bad, or worse.)

If that’s the best alternative, I say we keep shoveling money at Big Tech’s waste management ideas; maybe some of them might actually pay off.

Author cheerypicks a few examples and falls victim to the idea that since one problem is difficult to solve literally nothing can be done. I found it particularly interesting that the article on lithium ion battery recycling wasn’t about the project failing, it was about it getting funded. If I were going to make an argument that something is impossible I would use examples of it failing not of it just starting out. Like for example if I was attacking astrology that would be my method.

It is true however that lithium battery recycling is going to struggle for a bit. Those batteries were not made with recycling in mind. The engineering is going to take some time but the principles are rock solid. You mechanically break the battery down, solvent out what you want, extract it, recirculate it. This is hardly new.

That picture looks like it was drawn by the guy who does Dance Gavin Dance’s album covers