Link

Now, note that the article says that the coral is merely eating the plastic, not completely digesting it. Though a part of me does wonder if nature will react to the plastic vortexes and someday evolve to a place where they decide to say "eff you" and decide to change on a molecular level to fully digest plastic particles as a legit food source. It's an interesting thought, but I think it would also be a long, long time for something like that to develop in a creature's makeup. It'll probably be a super plankton or something.

Still, I found it to be an interesting article. What are your thoughts?

sigh Human beings have fucked up the planet so much, it's no wonder it's trying to do something to reverse our idiocy. Maybe it'll evolve to eat people who don't recycle soon.

Very interesting! Who knows what many more surprises that Mother Nature has in store for us?

I think people don't understand the implications of this.

The coral is eating plastic. Do you know what happens to other sea life that eats plastic?

(GRAPHIC PHOTOS) Let me show you. (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)

Yeah. Things that eat plastic DIE from it.

This isn't awesome. This isn't amazing. It's fucking horrifying. It's not the coral "trying to evolve," it's the coral ingesting plastic particulates because it can't differentiate between that and its normal food, and thus poisoning and starving itself in the process.

This is going to kill the Great Barrier Reef if it isn't reined in. But of course it won't be, because humans are idiots, and we're intent on destroying ourselves, apparently...

I'm under the impression that nature is evolving and adapting all the time, though I understand you not finding any humor in my jokes. It is horrible what humans do to the environment for the sake of (kind of temporary if you think about it in a geo-time-like sense) sustainment in everyday life, but I do personally have a curiosity of "what if" after our era has passed, if there would ever be a great evolutionary change where an organism could adapt and advance on such a level to learn how to effectively digest the particles and waste. I just don't think I would be alive to see such a change occur, and I'm sure such a thought crosses into the realm of science fiction and fantasies, but I entertain the thought of it happening after I am long gone anyway. If an organism like the water bear could adapt to an extent to survive under six times the pressures of the deepest trenches of the ocean today, what could an organism be capable of achieving in millions of years from now? It seems unfathomable, but then I look at things like tardigrades and marvel at what such a small thing is capable of.

I do agree that it is just vastly unfortunate that in an age where we have the convenience of refrigeration, motor transport, and being able to communicate with others with the touch a computer and wifi network with all the world's knowledge at our fingertips, that we also live in an age where massive amounts of waste are produced en masse ever since the beginning of major industrialization, and our world, and the people in it, can suffer because of it. But I know there are also people who care about the world and want to better it to preserve life. There are people who want to fund projects like solar roadways, solar ovens that make salt water drinkable, nitrogen powered engines, and there are thousands of non profit organizations of people who want to help make the environment a cleaner place..

So as I get off my soapbox, I will says that, yes, humankind has done a lot of crap to the world and I do worry about the harm and possibly irreversible effects the pollution in the last century has accumulated. Yet I also notice, in annoyance, that a lot of the people who spout that humankind is the problem, will often say this while they themselves are using a computer from their home that is powered by electricity that is very likely generated burning fossil fuels so they can express themselves with exasperation. I am not going to cast that stone because, obviously, I wouldn't be making this post right now if it wasn't for electricity and I'm not going to bounce about happy land and pretend that all my power comes from wind turbines and sunshine, because it probably doesn't. But I am going to point out that not every individual in the human race is hellbent on killing themselves and the world. The problem is that a lot of people remain uneducated about the matter, or just don't care.

Which I guess is what you said to begin with anyway. Well, screw this soapbox.