New plastic pollution discovered: 'Plasticorals' coral rubble fused with plastic

Commenters reacted to the discovery of coral rubble fused with plastic by riffing on the idea that plastic will simply become part of Earth's fabric. bmk44 and Joel_Mckay invoked George Carlin’s riff that the planet will incorporate plastic; sharpshadow echoed that “everything becomes a rock.” ninininino pointed to images and studies of plastic in beach rocks and trees, and canadiantim and criddell labeled our era the “plastic age” or “plasticene.” SoftTalker summed a common fatalistic note: “the planet is fine; the people are fucked.”

Others focused on biology and practical consequences. vatsachak and wongarsu highlighted evolving bacteria and fungi that can consume plastics and suggested biodegradation could change the problem, though wongarsu cautioned it won’t eliminate useful plastic because durability matters. ErroneousBosh countered with a concrete downside: some biodegradable formulations already cause real-world failures, citing soya-based wiring insulation in cars. The split, as framed by commenters, is between acceptance of plastic’s geological assimilation and cautious optimism about microbial solutions tempered by examples of biodegradable plastics creating new technical problems.