The earth is going to return petroleum to the biosphere, and humans are a part of that process. We are the bacteria that eats oil.
The utility of plastic as a material that is very durable is a temporary state of affairs. As more of these microbes evolve traits that allow them to metabolize it, the utility of plastic will wane. It's primary selling point, as well as it's primary detrimental trait, is it's ability to withstand decomposition.
Climate change due to carbon dioxide is a part of this process. Returning sequestered carbon to the carbon cycle necessarily causes disturbances in balance for a time. In the end, what you wind up with is more biomass, or more specifically, biomass that once existed that is now being reintroduced.
The utility of plastic as a material that is very durable is a temporary state of affairs. As more of these microbes evolve traits that allow them to metabolize it, the utility of plastic will wane. It's primary selling point, as well as it's primary detrimental trait, is it's ability to withstand decomposition.
Climate change due to carbon dioxide is a part of this process. Returning sequestered carbon to the carbon cycle necessarily causes disturbances in balance for a time. In the end, what you wind up with is more biomass, or more specifically, biomass that once existed that is now being reintroduced.