Future Fossils: Plastic Stone - Essay Example

Future fossils: Plastic stone Nuwer Rachel ed the article, ‘Future fossils: Plastic stone,’ which The New York Times published on June 9, The author reports of discovery of plastiglomerate, a resultant substance from a mixture of natural and manmade materials. According to the author, plastic has been a common material since the 20th century and has large quantities waste. The waste, according to scientists, combine with natural materials such as sand and wood, among other materials that exist in the neighbourhood of plastic wastes, resulting in a hybrid material that is likely to have a long lifespan, unlike plastic.

Charles Moore of Algalita Marine Research Institute was the first to identify plastiglomerate during his research on plastic along the polluted Kamilo beach that accumulates garbage due to nature of current around it. He noted embedded plastic on rocks and took photos for studies but the discovery remained insignificant until the year 2012 when Moore delivered a lecture at Western University in Ontario, courtesy of Dr. Patricia Corcoran. Inclusion of the discovery in his lecture prompted further research by Corcoran who sampled 205 specimens of embedded plastics on rocks (Nuwer, 2014).

Several hypotheses were proposed into the discovery but countered. Moore proposed possible effects of volcanic activities at Kilauea but lava from the site has not reached the beach in the recent past. Possible effects of bonfire were also proposed but dismissed. Another hypothesis into the formation was burning of plastics as a disposal strategy. Corcoran believes that plastiglomerates exists across the world, only that they could have not been identified or reported. She further classifies plastiglomerates as stones and not rocks because of the artificial aspects but this does not alter the materials’ lifespan.

The author concludes that human activities are significant to the environment and associated effects such as developed plastics and plastiglomerates will be long-term evidence of human existence on earth (Nuwer, 2014). ReferenceNuwer, R. (2014). Future fossils: Plastic stone. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/science/earth/future-fossils-plastic-stone.html?ref=science&_r=2.