Melissa Marchetti
Mr Ippolito
AP Bio/Current Event #2
10/05/20
Kowalski, Kathiann. “How to Recycle 'Nonrecyclable' Plastics.” Science News for Students, 29 Sept. 2020, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/how-to-recycle-nonrecyclable-plastics.
For this week's current event, I decided to read “How to Recycle 'Nonrecyclable' Plastics.”, by Kathiann Kowalski. In her article, she describes a more efficient and sustainable way of recycling. She begins with the issues we currently face regarding recycling. She explains that most plastics take over 100 years to chemically biodegrade and the landfill method we currently use wastes very valuable space. There is also the extremely concerning issue with our waterways and oceans. The plastics break down into microplastics: containing toxins and harmful chemicals. These are harmful not only to the environment itself, but the animals and marine life as well. She mentions that there are definitely more sustainable plastics, like the kind used in water bottles and legos. But, so far, scientists are yet to find a way to recycle “thermoplastics”. Thermoplastics are cured using heat. This allows for cross links between atoms to be made, making them able to withstand heavy impact like recycling. This means they also can’t be melted down and formed into new shapes. However, a new type of plastic has been invented that may replace thermoplastic. It's called a vitrimer and it's very similar to thermoplastics. The only difference is in the “cross links”. With vitrimers, these cross links can be broken down, allowing them to make new cross links. This essentially means a vitrimer can be recycled over and over again.
I think that Kowalski's article is extremely relevant today. Despite most Scientists being occupied by the current Pandemic, Kowalski is still producing significant and relevant content. Again, despite the pandemic, global warming is still an issue. And because we’ve been so preoccupied, we’ve been neglecting it for quite some time. Plastics are one of the biggest pollutants; They destroy ecosystems and emit greenhouse gasses. I think her article serves as a reminder that we need to continue cutting down our plastic use. However, it’s also somewhat hopeful as she explains a possible solution for an extremely dangerous issue we are plagued with.
Overall, Kowalski's article was very interesting. I appreciated her topic of discussion as a whole and the way she explained it. She was very deliberate in getting her points across and articulate in creating her arguments. I also thought it was helpful how she created a vocabulary list at the bottom of the article. I was unfamiliar with some of the vocabulary she used and I found it useful. If I were to improve anything, I would probably add more detail and be more specific in some of her ideas. For example, I felt a little confused after reading about vitrimers and their chemical bonds.
Victoria Ruffo
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP BIO
10/13/20
Citation:
Kowalski, Kathiann. “How to Recycle 'Non Recyclable' Plastics.” Science News for Students, 29 Sept. 2020, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/how-to-recycle-nonrecyclable-plastics.
Hyperlink to Article: www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/how-to-recycle-nonrecyclable-plastics.
Hyperlink to Blog:
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/
For this week’s current event, I decided to analyze Melissa’s review. Overall, Melissa presents her audience with a very strong review of the article. She exhibits three main strengths throughout her writing. First, Melissa does a great job identifying and explaining key terms. For instance, in her first paragraph she writes, “The plastics break down into microplastics: containing toxins and harmful chemicals,” (review 1). By adding the description “containing toxins and harmful chemicals”, Melissa makes the information more clear which allows the reader to have a better understanding of the article. Secondly, Melissa has a very strong relevance paragraph. She explains that although the COVID-19 Pandemic has taken center stage, global warming still remains an important issue. She specifically states, “Plastics are one of the biggest pollutants; They destroy ecosystems and emit greenhouse gasses. I think her article serves as a reminder that we need to continue cutting down our plastic use,” (review). This part of the review captures the attention of the reader and reminds them that global warming is still something that happens. Lastly, I liked one of the strengths Melissa noted in her review. She states, “I also thought it was helpful how she created a vocabulary list at the bottom of the article. I was unfamiliar with some of the vocabulary she used and I found it useful,” (review). Attaching a vocab list to the article is a very smart way to make information more accessible. Therefore, this was a very important strength for Melissa to highlight.
Although Melissa’s review was successful, there are still a couple areas where she could improve. First, I wish Melissa incorporated more quotes into her review. For instance, when Melissa is talking about water pollution she doesn’t add any evidence to support her position. She simply states, “There is also the extremely concerning issue with our waterways and oceans,” (review). Pulling a quote from the article to defend this statement would have helped the reader better understand the significance of this issue. Secondly, the weakness segment of Melissa’s review is a bit vague. When describing one of the article’s weaknesses she says, “If I were to improve anything, I would probably add more detail and be more specific in some of her ideas,” (review). Melissa could have gone into more depth about what specific areas she felt needed more development in the article, instead of generalizing. This would have added value to Melissa’s review by making it more specific and analytical.
One part of Melissa’s review that I found interesting was this quote: “She mentions that there are definitely more sustainable plastics, like the kind used in water bottles and legos. But, so far, scientists are yet to find a way to recycle thermoplastics,” (review). Before reading this review, I knew very little about thermoplastics. I wasn’t aware that scientists were looking to find a way to recycle thermoplastics. This is a very interesting point because if scientists could find a way to successfully recycle thermoplastics, we could potentially help limit the effects of global warming. This small discovery could have great implications for our environment. This is definitely a topic I would like to research more about.
Maya Brinster
ReplyDeleteAP Bio EF Even
Current Event Comment #3
October 14, 2020
Article Citation:
Kowalski, Kathiann. “How to Recycle 'Non Recyclable' Plastics.” Science News for Students, 29 Sept. 2020, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/how-to-recycle-nonrecyclable-plastics.
Blog Review Hyperlink:
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/10/melissa-marchetti-mr-ippolito-ap.html#comment-form
This week I read Melissa’s review of the article “How to Recycle ‘Non Recyclable’ Plastics” by Kathiann Kowalski. This review was very well written, and three aspects stood out to me in particular. First, Melissa effectively summarizes the article, which provides background information that is necessary for the readers understanding of her review and the article. She explains how threatening plastic can be to the environment. Thermoplastics are particularly harmful; unlike other plastics, they can’t be melted down and therefore recycled, making it much harder to solve this issue of plastic pollution. Melissa writes that this issue may be fixed, or at least diminished, by replacing thermoplastics with newly invented “vitrimer” plastic, which are similar to thermoplastics, but can be continuously recycled. I also like how Melissa clearly defines certain terms that may be new to the reader, such as “vitrimers” and “thermoplastics,” which eliminates the possibility of confusion among readers. Melissa’s “relevance” paragraph also stood out to me. She is very effective at explaining why this topic matters, especially in these recent times of increased environmental uncertainty and concern. In the paragraph, she states solid reasons as to why people should care about global warming and pollution, which is incredibly impactful to readers, especially those who might not have been previously aware of the severity of these issues.
This was a very well-written review, however there were a couple areas that Melissa could improve upon in future reviews. She should express her ideas more confidently. She should get rid of unnecessary phrases such as “I think,” or “I probably…,” which only weaken her writing. She should also remember to directly cite the article she is reviewing. Although she paraphrased a lot, she had no quotes. Adding in quotes would help strengthen her future reviews.
Although I was aware of the severity of global warming, I did not previously understand how harmful pollution - especially plastic pollution - is to our environment. Instead of throwing my plastic waste into the nearest trash can (if there isn’t a nearby recycling bin), I will make more of a conscious effort to dispose of my waste properly. I will also make more of an effort to pick up litter, whereas previously I often disregarded trash if it wasn’t mine. Overall, this was a very well-written review, and effectively taught me the dangers of pollution.
Casey McKhann
ReplyDeleteAP Bio EF Even
Current Event Comment #3
October 14th, 2020
Article Citation:
Kowalski, Kathiann. “How to Recycle 'Non Recyclable' Plastics.” Science News for Students, 29 Sept. 2020, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/how-to-recycle-nonrecyclable-plastics.
Blog Review Hyperlink:
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/10/melissa-marchetti-mr-ippolito-ap.html#comment-form
I read Melissa’s review of the article “How to Recycle ‘Non Recyclable’ Plastics” by Kathiann Kowalski. I thought Melissa did many things very well when writing her current event. I believe that Melissa did a great job explaining the issue presented in the article. She summarized the issue regarding our current plastic management very well and was concise while incorporating all details which the reader needed. She described the multitude of problems which arise as a result of our current waste management system very well. These being the space which waste takes up, as well as the toxins released by waste. I believe that Melissa also did a great job of getting slightly in depth about the issue and the potential solution, without diving into too much detail and confusing her audience. This was seen when she discussed thermoplastics. I also thought Melissa did well in summarizing the potential solutions presented by the author. She broke up each solution well and presented them all in a manner that was concise and allowed them to be memorable to the reader.
While I think Melissa did a great job in writing her review, I believe that she could have done some things differently to improve particular aspects of the review. For example, I thought that she was wrong in her determination that the article was extremely relevant today. I believe that the article did not discuss a new and upcoming issue that was very pressing but rather a secondary issue which should be addressed in the future at some point but does not warrant immense attention. I also believe that Melissa could have stated more about what the other did well in the article. I also wish that the relevance paragraph discussed any new breakthroughs which make this article important in modern day.
I think this article review was very interesting and I am glad I chose it. I chose this article review to comment on because I had often thought about how inefficient our waste management system appears to be and wondered if there was a better solution. This review informed me that there might be but it is not certain. I do not think this review will change my everyday life but I believe that it is beneficial to know aspects of society which require change and this article informed me of one of these.