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What´s missing in our Environment? (2019)
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This reflective paper by an ecologist explores how humanity's growing technical capabilities have outpaced our ability to think ecologically and sustainably, with plastic pollution as a key example of unintended environmental consequences. It calls for a deeper integration of ecological thinking into science and decision-making.
Ecology, as science of our Environment (Old-Greek: „oikos“ = the house, „logos“ = the word, the science) is with Human Being since his first appearance. What makes us today so clairaudient or even anxious is the knowledge, that the Human Being has developed technical abilities too efficient and without thinking about evolution and resources of our Nature. The soft ability of getting Information shows certainly our errors in last decades. Fortunately, our Ecology is able to fix clear sources and creators. We realised that we have generated our Climate Crisis by our own. We know already how we can prohibit bad dangers out of our heating of our Earth Environment. Even some, artificial created new materials (f. i. Plastic) are longer usable then the evolutionally developed ones of our Nature but we can’t recycle them without problems. So „Microplastic“ makes broad pollutions in our seas. Fishes eat them and die because that’s no food for them, some eaten chemical elements may have toxic follow ups as food for Human Beings. That are – genuine journalistic-commercial – the actually most horrifying catastrophic messages. Till now Ecology can´t start effective, worldwide strategies against Climate Change. Whole our Humanity – we have to think in that dimension – will start a common strategy only the last moment. A worldwide or even regional consensus is actually starting. We are bound to our descendants. Irresponsible or single persons only don´t care about this. The Human Being is in rare cases suizidal.
More Papers Like This
What´s missing in our environment? (2019)
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This reflective essay on ecology and environmental awareness discusses what has been lost and what challenges face modern society in relating to the natural environment. It is a philosophical piece with no primary scientific data on microplastics.
From Science to Science: Lessons Learned from the Disappearing Plastic Gyres
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This commentary reflects on the paradox that while scientific progress has brought great benefits, it has also created serious environmental problems like ocean plastic pollution that are difficult to reverse once recognized. The piece questions whether the long-term harms of plastic production were adequately considered before widespread adoption.
Transdisciplinary pragmatic melioration for the plastic life cycle: Why the social, natural, and technical sciences should prioritize reducing harm
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This review argues that solving the global plastic waste crisis requires a transdisciplinary approach integrating natural sciences, engineering, and social sciences focused on pragmatic harm reduction across the full plastic lifecycle, rather than siloed technical research that overlooks social contexts and systemic inequities in waste management.
Harmonious and sustainable evolution of production
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This paper examines the tensions between scientific and technological progress and contemporary environmental challenges, focusing on inadequate plastic waste management, microplastic dispersion from landfills, and the need to rethink single-use plastic and cosmetic products through a review of international regulations and a national case study.
Global Plastic Pollution: Unresolved Problems, Scientific and Technological Gaps, and a Practical Framework for Prevention, Recovery and Environmental Protection
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This paper reviews the global plastic pollution problem, noting that only 9% of plastic waste was recycled in 2019 out of 353 million tonnes generated. It identifies ongoing gaps in waste collection, recycling, microplastics and regulation, and proposes a conceptual framework for prevention and lifecycle management rather than new software or tools.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.