
Microplastics found in 'pristine' Pyrenees mountains - gpvos
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-47947235
======
devoply
I sort of see this period as a similar period to when trees invented wood and
nothing on the planet could break it down. Then millions of years later fungus
figured it out. Eventually life on this planet if the planet doesn't become
uninhabitable will figure out how to break the plastic down and use it for
fuel. There are already bacteria capable of degrading plastics. Maybe one day
they will eat it.

~~~
mongol
Can you hint where I can read more about the wood / fungus history thing?

~~~
devoply
[http://feedthedatamonster.com/home/2014/7/11/how-fungi-
saved...](http://feedthedatamonster.com/home/2014/7/11/how-fungi-saved-the-
world)

The period of time is called carboniferous and it's the time where all the
coal we use today was created.

> Using a class of enyzmes called peroxidases, the fungus bombarded the wood
> with highly reactive oxygen molecules, in much the same way one might untie
> a knot using a flamethrower. This strategy reduced the wood to a
> carbohydrate-rich slurry from which the fungus could slurp up the edible
> cellulose.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
>in much the same way one might untie a knot using a flamethrower.

I find the fact that the speed is mismatched by many orders of magnitude to be
amusing. It's like comparing the formation of a mountain range to a car crash.

~~~
gumby
On geological scale there's not a big difference -- the continents skitter
around the surface of the earth like drops of water on a hot skillet.

------
gpvos
basically a dup of
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19672514](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19672514)

