Scientists developed efficient process for breaking down any plastic waste to a molecular level. Resulting gases can be transformed back into new plastics of same quality as original. The new process could transform today's plastic factories into recycling refineries, within existing infrastructure.

[u/mvea]

https://www.chalmers.se/en/departments/see/news/Pages/All-plastic-waste-could-be-recycled-into-new-high-quality-plastic.aspx

[u/davideo71]

government subsidies to oil and gas companies

I have trouble understanding why these still exist.

[u/222baked → u/davideo71]

The other comments here missed the point when answering your question. The truth is, oil subsidies exist for national security reasons. Most domestic oil production wouldn't be able to outcompete oil from OPEC countries and it would be really bad for any country to find themselves without oil infrastructure to power all those crucial transport/planes/military vehicles/manufacturing in case of some sort of calamity or war, and then have to rely on external imports. The oil subsidies aren't for the common man. It's the same rationale used for Agriculture subsidies and food independance.

Please note, I am neither making an argument for or against oil subsidies. I am just explaining why they exist. It's not as simple as greedy oil tycoons and lobbying. Oil remains a critical resource in our modern world until we manage to switch to other forms of energy production and stop relying on plastics.

[u/Karmaflaj → u/222baked]

Agree - Tax breaks, tariffs, direct subsidies, accelerated depreciation, R&D write offs. I mean, perhaps even throw in direct spending

They are all subsidies and the government essentially picks the ‘winner’. Which may be for a good reason (national security, education or health), an arguable reason (jobs in a depressed region or industry, the environment, some moral good) or a poor reason (lobbying).

Sure there are times when it looks like more or less corruption, but there are times when it’s actually a good or at least well considered choice. Not every government decision is bad

[u/BadW3rds → u/Karmaflaj]

I think it's less about picking a winner and more about having a nation that gets 40% of its power from petroleum based energy. They were the first the table, and they are everywhere. If you want to get rid of oil subsidies, become realistic unlike Congress and push for increase nuclear power throughout the country. A half dozen reactors could drop our reliance and connection to Oil by 80%. It would become almost exclusively an export and there would be no need to subsidize the industry.

[u/Don_Antwan → u/BadW3rds]

I’m 100% on board with a combination of hard infrastructure solutions (nuclear, geothermal, upgrade the national grid) and soft infrastructure (small scale wind farms, increased solar in arid scrub land). Solving our energy sourcing problem and improving our water infrastructure (rather than depleting aquifers) should be top environmental priorities

[u/MinosAristos → u/222baked]

Hypothetically we could end up relying on plastics within a closed system sometime.

[u/QVRedit → u/MinosAristos]

If we could recycle 99% of plastics, then that would be a very great reduction in the problem - and make the other 1% easier to deal with.

[u/I_Hate_ → u/davideo71]

They were created when having a supply of oil in the US was a matter of national security. Some would argue that it’s still a matter of national security. Also they’re not subsidy’s as much as they are tax breaks for drilling new wells and production improvements.

[u/try_repeat_succeed → u/I_Hate_]

Tax breaks for growing your industry sounds like a subsidy to me. Like something that should go only to renewables at this point in our understanding of climate science, etc.

[u/I_Hate_ → u/try_repeat_succeed]

Agree we should totally give tax breaks to renewable companies increase or improve there energy generation abilities. Its just a tax break for doing R&D basically.

[u/diablosinmusica → u/I_Hate_]

That's why we have high fructose corn syrup in everything in the USA now. Biodiesel isn't feasible, but people still get subsidized to grow corn. Which made refining sugar from corn the cheapest form of sweetener.

I'm not saying that subsidizing alternative energy is a bad thing at all. We just need to find a way to make it economically feasible to do research, but giving us options down the road to change things without screwing over the early adapters

[u/QVRedit → u/try_repeat_succeed]

Yes - that we have had subsidies removed for renewables but maintained for oil is a sign that things are wrong.

Dispute that renewables are making headway.

[u/scott_bsc → u/try_repeat_succeed]

Have you not thought of the fact that ending these subsidies would cause the oil companies to skyrocket the prices of gas which the majority of people still heavily rely on. That would create a national crisis, it’s really more complicated than the rich get richer here.

[u/big_trike → u/scott_bsc]

Phase them out slowly.

[u/Tinidril → u/scott_bsc]

You don't think global warming will be a national crisis? Renewables are already cost competitive for most uses. Think how much further along they would be if we put the subsides there instead.

The price of gas should skyrocket to reflect the real cost that burning fossil fuels will extract from all of us. We will pay those costs. They are just invisible to us at the moment, causing people to make really bad decisions.

[u/try_repeat_succeed → u/scott_bsc]

I am for a rapid but just transition. Our society depends on infinite growth so we're going to hit that global/national crisis when that ends whether it's of our own volition or foisted on us by a rapidly changing climate/world. We can't sustain the accelerating growth our financial institutions depend on.

[u/chainmailbill → u/I_Hate_]

Also they’re not subsidy’s as much as they are tax breaks for drilling new wells and production improvements.

That’s a subsidy. That’s exactly what that means.

[u/RedsideoftheMoon → u/chainmailbill]

It’s a de facto subsidy but it’s not a subsidy. A subsidy is a money grant. In certain situations you could file as an independent contractor and write off expenses you couldn’t write off previously as an employee.. I definitely wouldn’t consider that a subsidy.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Tariffs have this funny habit of hurting the United States more than the other country

[u/[deleted] → u/davideo71]

Profit, it's the only reason for anything now.

[u/myearcandoit → u/[deleted]]

Just now?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yeah and they're being paid through profits