Ethylene: The Cause Of Plastic Pollution

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The advancement of automobiles is becoming more and more redundant, where redundancy is directly proportional to population growth. When someone goes into a supermarket they do not place each individual item in a separate cart. A shopper places all their items in a single cart, maximizing efficiency and minimizing carts needed as well as supermarket congestion. This logic needs to be translated into our everyday personnel transportation. Over powered automobiles transport a single person every day, causing extreme pollution and unnecessary fatalities. With the population growing at an exponential rate, a high speed railroad system is needed. It will connect cities far and wide; eliminating an immense amount of human pollution, unnecessary …show more content…
All the high speed rail framing and interior can be made from these plastics. The majority of the worlds plastics is high density polyethylene (HDPE) (science.howstuffworks.com). Ethylene is a hydrocarbon with the formula C2H2 and poly means many, a chain of these C2H2 undergo polymerization when mixed with a catalyst like titanium chloride forming this plastic. HDPE has extremely versatile properties. It is very strong; just a three centimeter by two centimeter piece has the tensile strength of 4,800 pounds per square inch (maropolymeronline.com). This UV resistant polymer can also take extreme heat, 350 Fahrenheit is the point where it begins to melt. Possibly the greatest advantages is its mold ability, every day we see this plastic take the shape of detergent bottles to IKEA chairs, it can be reheated and molded into any shape and size numerous times. Unlike metal, it takes a lot less energy to take many pieces of plastic and combine them using heat to form them into a new shape. For example, steel has to be welded together, it cannot be simply heat pressed together like HDPE. HDPE not only has all the requirements necessary for great train carts and components, but also serves as an opportunity to rid many ecosystems of the plastic that …show more content…
Nuclear fusion is what goes on deep inside of the Sun. Not to be confused with nuclear fission, which is what is commonly practiced today. The draw back with nuclear fission is that toxic waste is the main byproduct, nuclear fusion on the other hand has zero by products and emissions. With so many organizations, industries, and businesses springing up to join the nuclear fusion race, there is no doubt the world can see nuclear fusion in the next decade or two. For example, Lockheed Martin , a defense industry giant, pledges to have a compact fusion reactor in the next decade (washingtonpost.com). They are also hundreds of small startups like General Fusion who receive large amounts of money from investors or governments, they all work independently to reach, rather , race to the nuclear fusion jackpot. Nuclear fusion is almost in reach and will make a global/local system of high speed rail not only possible but, completely environmentally
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