Last year, scientists discovered in the ocean and then isolated in a laboratory two bacteria capable of breaking down plastic. Their names are Thioclava sp. BHET1 and Bacillus sp. BHET2.
It looks like nature is learning to deal with the byproducts of our existence. But that is not new.
Nature has always found a way to deal with anything that happens. We call it evolution.
So, I am pretty confident that nature will evolve, adapt and find a way to deal with the mess we humans have created and are creating. And that evolution includes us. In the end, we are part of nature. Everything is.
So, should we just wait for nature to do its magic?
I can see at least two reasons why the answer is no.
The first is that nature has all the time in the world. She has no rush or sense of urgency. Earth is 4.5 billion years old. A few thousand years for the emersion of new species capable of eating plastic, it's an instant for nature. Not for us, unfortunately. So, we better do something because we are the ones at risk of disappearing.
The second reason is that we are nature. We are instruments through which nature evolves.
So, we better begin now.