

3D Printers to Save Hermit Crabs - ngorenflo
http://www.shareable.net/blog/3d-printing-community-crowdsource-saving-species

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burgerbrain
The comments on this article have made me lose a great deal of hope for
humanity.

 _Ignoring the fact that most plastic used as feedstock for makerbots is BIO-
DEGRADABLE_ , are people _really_ concerned about the prospect of dumping a
few plastic shells into the ocean? Do they realize how _absurdly huge_ the
oceans are, and how _astronomically insignificant_ this amount of plastic
would be?

Besides, what's the worst case scenario here? Hermit crabs for hundreds of
years are able to reuse the same shells? _Oh the horror!_.

The absolute vitriolic comments there are gut wrenching. Even when somebody
posts clarifications (such as "the plan is to use them domestically, not dump
them in the ocean") they just get flamed for _"back pedaling"_. Either project
members posted this to greenpeace boards with added insulting comments about
their mothers, or there surely is something going on between the Makerbot
chaps and some other group of people that I'm not aware of. This is just
unnatural.

~~~
andrewflnr

      Do they realize how absurdly huge the oceans are?
    

Not that you don't have some points, but relying on the hugeness of the ocean
to dilute our trash has not worked out that well.

~~~
burgerbrain
You might as well complain about cigarette smokers contributing to global
warming.

Yeah, plastic and smoke are both issues, but at this scale? No way. Not in the
slightest.

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kvnn
This is an interesting comment :

"This is stupid.

1\. Consult with a marine biologist to find out if there is a real shortage of
shells for hermit crabs to use.

Tip: There isn't. Source: I'm a marine biologist."

EDIT : I removed the last half of the comment because it addressed the issue
of dumping plastic into the oceans, which has been addressed by someone else
here (they often use bioplastics for 3D printing).

~~~
__mark
Non of them cite any research so makerbot might as well test the shells if
they want to, I don't see any problem with that.

------
bsenftner
burgerbrain's comment here has a very valid point. I'm involved in the
project, working on the 3d math behind generating these printable shells, and
the public reaction is quite surprising to me. TeamTeamUSA has been working on
this project for over a year, and the MakerBot people simply chose to help
with some funding and support. So they issued a press release on their own.
That is their choice. Everyone assuming so much, and coming to their extreme
opinions is ridiculous. You'd think this was BP and Dick Cheney making the
announcement.

For the record, the shells being printed now are prototypes, yes in plastic.
The final material is not selected, but will be environmentally friendly. A
biodegradable plastic made from corn and sugarcane is a likely candidate. The
prototypes are being 'trial tested' with hermit crabs to insure they will
adopt the artificial shells, they're not too heavy and so on. And the final
goal is not to print shells willy-nilly and scatter them on beaches. The final
process of distribution will be designed, guided and overseen by marine
biologists who are already active and engaged in the project.

Everyone involved is a concerned, educated individual. The comments to
Makerbot's PR post and it's repeats across the web are pure Internet mob
stupidity.

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mc32
>One of the challenges is that no one knows yet if hermit crabs will live in
man-made plastic shells. And if they will, what shell designs would make the
best hermit crab homes.

How come they don't print the kind of shells these crabs regularly scrounge
up? I don't know about these crabs, but I imagine they have some favorite
shell types they like to use. Ask a marine zoologist, no?

~~~
burgerbrain
There could perhaps be a gap between which sort of shells hermit crabs are
most commonly able to find, and which kind of shells are _ideal_ for hermit
crabs. Furthermore, the difference in material might have an effect.

------
VladRussian
interesting - how much a "Nature saving" stuff a 3d printer needs to print to
balance the impact on Nature caused by the producing of the printer (incl. all
its components, delivery costs, electricity to produce and to operate the
printer)

