A12 ENVIRONMENT
SEPTEMBER 27 – OCTOBER 3, 2013
Brilliant Colours and Fun Facts
About Jellyfish
Dan CROSBIE/shutterstock
the Epoch Times
J
ellyfish have been around for
hundreds of millions of years,
witnessing mass extinctions of
other animals and creatures.
The oldest known jellyfish fossils are
at least 500 million years old.
Jellyfish are free-swimming,
gelatinous marine animals with
a pulsating bell-shaped body and
trailing tentacles. Its body squirts
out water, propelling the graceful
creature forward. Their tentacles
float like a driftnet, ejecting poisontipped barbs to capture prey that
floats by. Depending on the size of
the jelly, they may eat larvae, fish,
crustaceans, tiny plants, and even
other species of jellyfish. They eat
and excrete waste from a single
opening.
Jellyfish have fast metabolisms; it
would be difficult for them to drift
through the water with a heavy load
of undigested food. In fact, they are
about 98 percent water, which is why
they virtually disappear when they
wash up on a beach and dry out in
the sun.
Jellyfish come in a variety of dif-
Creating Renewable Plastics That
Do Not Cost the Earth
Fun Facts About Jellies
1. The word Jellyfish has been officially used since 1796.
2. Swarms of jellyfish are called
a bloom.
3. Lion’s Mane are the largest jel-
U
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designnews.com
Such naturally derived
polymers clearly have
a bright future, with
some materials already
commercially available
and others arriving
in the next three to
five years. The pace of
research in this area is
rapid and accelerating.
heat resistance.
Plastic From Plants
Polylactic acid, or PLA, is a sustainable
polymer derived from cornstarch that
has been on the market for a decade,
mainly as disposable packaging. An
important aspect of PLA chemistry is
its chain tacticity—the arrangement
of its polymer chains. By changing the
stereochemistry of the molecules—the
patterns in which they are arranged—
different properties can be emphasised.
Our team at Imperial College London
has developed a new catalyst to prepare
a new, more heat-resistant form of PLA
that will widen the range of uses PLA
can be put to. Producing the new material cost-effectively will be the next
challenge, but this class of material
could replace common tough polyesters currently used for such things
as housings for household appliances.
Adding cellulose, nature’s reinforcing
agent, to polymers to improve strength
is a method that aims to mimic the
way plants and trees generate the
strength to support their structures.
Composite materials like this, with
cellulose fibers reinforcing a matrix or
resin composed of a naturally derived
polymer, could deliver materials tough
enough even for the vehicle industry,
where bioplastics have struggled to
match the properties of petrochemical
plastics and resins.
Making Solid CO2 Gains
Other research has focused on polymers created from feedstocks other
than cornstarch. For example, Hillmyer and Tolman in Minneapolis have
reported an interesting class of thermoplastic elastics prepared from the
ester lactide and an extract of menthol
from spearmint. In Konstanz, Germany, Mecking and co-workers have
developed efficient chemical processes
to transform natural fatty acids (which
are the well known polyunsaturates
found in oil crops such as rapeseed)
into polymers with properties similar
to polyethylene.
Many companies and academic
research groups worldwide are working
intensively on how to create processes
that will sequester as much CO2 as
possible. At Imperial College London,
we have developed an intriguing class
of catalysts, based on inexpensive
zinc and magnesium, which use CO2
very productively at pressures as low
as one atmosphere and using carbon
dioxide that is heavily contaminated
with water.
Such naturally derived polymers
clearly have a bright future, with some
materials already commercially available and others arriving in the next
three to five years. The pace of research
in this area is rapid and accelerating.
Today, its major use is in packaging,
but in the long run these materials will
expand into most if not all markets
that plastics currently rule.
Charlotte Williams is a professor of
Chemistry at Imperial College London.
lyfish. Their bodies can be nearly
six feet wide (1.8 m) and tentacles
49 feet (15 m) long.
4. The colour of some jellyfish is
affected by their diet. For example,
eating a lot of larval crustaceans
can make the moon jellyfish pink
or purple.
5. Even dead jellyfish can sting.
6. Pouring something acidic on the
wound can help remove the sting,
such as vinegar, Coke, red wine, or
even urine.
7. Jellyfish are the favourite prey
of many sea turtles.
8. The Chinese have fished and
eaten jellyfish for 1,700 years. They
are both a culinary delicacy and
used in Chinese medicine. They are
rich in protein and very low in fat,
and can help expand veins and lower
blood pressure.
Reasons to Think Twice About Releasing
Butterflies at Your Wedding
By Laura Cozzolino
the Epoch Times
By Charlotte Williams
NITED KINGDOM–Imagine
a future where packaging is
made entirely from waste
material and biodegrades
to harmless by-products, where your
home’s cavity wall insulation foam is
made from captured CO2 emissions,
where construction materials, vehicle
components and engineering plastics
are sophisticated biological composites comprising tough cellulose fibres
embedded in naturally derived polymers.
Such inventions are already entering
the mainstream, driven by considerable consumer and economic pressure to replace conventional plastics
(made from petrochemicals) with
new materials derived from natural
sources, such as plants or gases like
CO2. Sustainable polymers like these
offer some intriguing advantages over
conventional petrochemical polymers,
most of which were discovered more
than 50 years ago.
Sustainable polymers are made from
natural raw materials. Although that
does not in itself mean they are any
greener than conventional materials,
they can provide substantial gains over
the whole lifecycle of manufacture,
use, and disposal. This is particularly
obvious when they are made from
waste materials. For example, if CO2
emissions from power stations are
used to make insulation foam, this
represents a means to lock up carbon
emissions and also put them to longterm use insulating homes, thus further reducing emissions.
Another key aspect of sustainable
polymers is that they naturally contain
oxygen in the form of oxides of carbon,
carbon dioxide, or carbohydrate for
example. Petrochemicals are hydrocarbons (reduced forms of carbon), which
means oxygen must be added to them,
a process that often requires the use of
toxic reagents or catalysts.
Some bio-derived polymers
(although not all) are biodegradable.
This can be an advantage in situations
where recycling is not an option, such
as in some packaging or agricultural
applications. In most other cases, they
are recyclable—although it is important to ensure new bio-polymers do
not contaminate conventional plastics
recycling streams.
The sophisticated structures of natural materials could bring improvements in the properties of new polymers. Using the natural chemistry of
renewable resources more cleverly has
to be a future goal, for example with
built-in degradation, improved barrier
properties for airtight packaging, and
enhanced biodegradability, strength or
ferent colours, decorating the surface of the ocean with luminescent
pink, blue, white, orange, and so
many other brilliant colours.
NITED STATES–Releasing butterflies is the latest trend at weddings, and
also at funerals and other
special occasions.
It is believed that butterflies take
dreams and wishes to the sky and
bring good fortune. They are also
considered a symbol of rebirth or
new beginnings. This latest fad
comes from South America and is
spreading around the world.
There are multiple companies
online offering butterfly release
services, describing it as a unique
experience to enchant everyone.
Anti-animal cruelty activists
and conservation groups, however,
deem the practice harmful to the
winged creatures and to the environment.
These beautiful and delicate creatures can be ordered online to be
Anti-animal cruelty
activists and
conservation groups
deem the practice
harmful to the
winged creatures and
to the environment.
shipped thousands of miles. They
are bred in farms and are induced
into hibernation by reducing the
temperature. They are then packed
in small, flat envelopes and shipped
in boxes with cold packs. Companies instruct you to replace the cold
packs regularly until about 1.5 hrs
Monarch butterflies
are put into
hibernation, then
packed for shipping
to be released at an
event. Some die before
reaching while others
cannot fly again.
before your desired time of release.
Those who sell the butterflies say
the process does not harm the butterflies and can help some species
populate. For example, the most
common type of butterflies used
to release are Monarchs—a species
in decline. Painted Ladies are also
popular, and other species are available upon request.
Many organisations, such as the
Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory,
the American Museum of Natural
History, the National Wildlife Federation, the Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife, and the North
America Butterflies Association, to
name a few, discourage their use for
a number of reasons.
Butterflies are very important
to the ecosystem, since they act as
pollinators and are indicators of the
ecosystem’s wellbeing.
Farming, hibernating, shipping,
and finally releasing them are
cruel, as some die before reaching the destination, others cannot
fly again, and those that can will
find themselves in an environment
where they do not belong.
Not only does the practice promote a commercial market for, and
exploitation of, living butterflies, it
can also damage the local species,
since the released butterflies might
spread diseases and parasites to
local populations.
The release might not even have
the intended enchanting effect,
since it could offend conservationminded guests or upset everyone
if the butterflies arrive dead or in
poor condition.
Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images