Plastic Water Bottles: Friend or Foe?

I read yet another article about the dangers of plastics (this time from Newsweek on 09 January, 2024). I could go on and on about the possible permutations of the controversy and potential dangers to the biosphere (and likely will before I finally give up on this blog), but for now I’ll try to keep it focused on just a single issue.

We are often warned about re-filling single-use plastic water bottles. And let’s not forget about using plastic straws, or coffee stirrers, or the evil of Styrofoam in its myriad forms… or all of the other manifestations of our continuing fixation with the convenience and desirability of this most versatile yet toxic creation of our collective genius.

It has been made abundantly clear: we are certainly doomed!

But… I’m in my seventies and grew up in a culture that gave no thought whatsoever to any of this, and it is rumored that I am still alive. My body is surely succumbing to the effects of the accumulated wear and tear, but — even after decades of polluted air and water… not to mention non-organic foods — I’m still managing to (gingerly) move from one place to another.

If you can sort out the inconsistencies in what we are told vs. the reality of our lives, you are surely one hell of a lot smarter than I will ever be…

Anyway, while I would encourage you to take the current level of environmental concern seriously — and maybe even read the attached article, or any of the countless others that touch on this issue and provide support to both sides — I offer the following quotes from the Newsweek missive that may be worth a look:

“Microplastics refer to any plastics that are smaller than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) long. They can be found in industrial waste and various beauty products and can also be formed during the degradation of larger pieces of plastic waste. Over time, these microplastics can break down even further into so-called nanoplastics. These nanoplastics are so tiny that they can pass through our intestines and lungs directly into our bloodstreams and travel through our bodies into our vital organs, including our hearts and brains.”

We sure don’t want any of that! Oh yeah, we’re doomed for sure.

And this one to further define the issue:

“Using a technique called Raman scattering microscopy—which can detect particles down to the size of a COVID virus—the team were able to measure an average of 240,000 particles of plastic in each liter of bottled water, 90 percent of which were nanoplastics. This is 10 to 100 times larger than previous estimates. These plastics likely originate from the bottle material, filters used to “purify” the water, and the source water itself.”

“It is not totally unexpected to find so much of this stuff. The idea is that the smaller things get, the more of them there are.”

This is kinda/sorta like the “Nebular Hypothesis” — which tries to explain the origin of the solar system — in reverse. In the case of the sun and planets, our region of space started with a countless number of very small particles — the nebula — which, through accumulation and accretion, coalesced into a much smaller number of larger particles: the planets (and moons), with the biggest piece — the sun — in the center. (I probably need a new post on The Origins of Reality…)

Anyway, the 4th Law of GeoFantasy confirms that this plastic contamination in your bottled water is absolutely to be expected. (Click here for a more detailed discussion on my educational website hosted by the University of Oregon.)

But plastics will biodegrade… given enough time. And here’s where being a human and stuck with human timeframes becomes problematic — most of us just don’t have the ability to internalize what “given enough time” means.

The jury is obviously still out (our observational window is sadly short), but it’s probably safe to say that the earth will take care of all of the plastic pollution we are stressing over within ten thousand years (it’s almost surely much less than this, but in these days of MAGA time, focusing on the worst-case scenario is always good for a click).

Ten thousand years — my God, it’s no wonder we’re all so steamed up! That is longer than any of us have, so it’s gotta be a problem. Right? And if your primary concern is yourself this makes complete sense.

But if your primary issue is to “Save the Earth” — as so many crusaders proclaim — a measly ten thousand years is less than nothing.

With all of this being said, make no mistake: I am completely disgusted by humanity’s disrespect for the planet, including the introduction of plastics (and all the other pollutants) into our environment. And I make it a point to be wary of refilling any single-use water bottle (after all, Strickler’s Laws of GeoFantasy are named after me, so I’d better at least attempt to follow them).

But… whether any of us follow the rules or not, the earth will deal with our mess as needed, and — assuming the survival of the planet is of at least passing importance — it’s gonna be just fine. Earth will survive us, just like it did the environmental depredations of the cyanobacteria two billion years ago, and the fundamental and irreversible disruptions they caused to the biosphere (surely another story for a later post).

The short version: stress over the whales or giant pandas or banana slugs all you want, but don’t worry about the earth — it’ll click along just fine without us around to make sure water still runs downhill.

(I’m reminded of a fifteen-point essay question commonly asked on my geology final exams: “Discuss tectonics. Describe plate motions and boundaries, and what happens when crustal plates interact. Explain how the different types of volcanoes are controlled by the type of plate boundary at which they occur. Include examples of different types of rocks which form at the various plate margins. Some discussion of the faults found at the various plate margins would also be appropriate. Basically, explain how the earth works.”

(One response from a student at GPHS that probably didn’t get full points: “The earth only works because of people. If there were no people, animals couldn’t live because they would need food, plants wouldn’t grow because they need water every day, and there would be no civilization. The earth just wouldn’t rotate right.”)

Before we give it up for another day, consider this: The overwhelming majority of plastics started as hydrocarbons (oil) in the ground, which were pumped to the surface and converted into the wondrous plastic materials we need and use… and then often throw away. The creation of petroleum is a complicated process that requires a long period of earthtime. As the 3rd Law of GeoFantasy tells us, most of the plastic residue we are so cavalierly tossing about will end up in the ocean.

While I’ve spent most of this post bemoaning this fate, it could be argued that the biodegradation of the plastics will return the carbon to the seafloor (just like the original organic sediments that made the oil in the first place). It is highly likely that — over the incredible reach of earthtime — much of this plastic crap will simply make more oil for the Terra’jin to find in three hundred million years. (Confused about the Terra’jin? Read Marker Bed when it (finally) hits Amazon a couple months from now. How’s that for a shameless plug?)