Part I—The Problem
Susan packed up her laptop, stuffing all of the papers she had been reading into the case. She looked around her. The library was nearly empty—typical for a Saturday evening. Still, she was happy to have made so much progress on her paper, which was due the following week. She picked up her belongings and began walking toward the steps to the main floor of the library. As she descended the staircase, she saw her friend Steve sitting at his usual table. She paused a moment at the foot of the stairs. Steve looked up from his computer just as Susan walked over to his table.
“Hi, Steve, what are you working on?” she asked quietly as she sat down at his table.
“Oh, it’s that research paper we have to write for Seminar,” he replied, shaking his head. “There is just so much information to write about; I’m having trouble getting it organized. I think I’m getting tired, too.” He looked over at her. “What about you? Have you made much progress on yours?”
Susan smiled. “Yes, I think I have a pretty good draft, but I have to let it rest for a while. I’ll work on editing it tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I think it’s time for a break. Want to go check out the basketball game for a bit?” Steve asked.
“That sounds great! A basketball game is just what I need to clear my head.”
The two friends headed off to the field house to see the game. When they got there, the Biology Club students were at a table selling filled water bottles that were decorated with biological themes.
“Hey, Susan! Hey, Steve!” one of the students called out. “Where are you going? Don’t you want to support the club and buy a water bottle?”
Susan and Steve walked over to the table.
“We’re going to watch the basketball game,” Steve answered. “We’ve been working on our research papers at the library and needed a break.” Steve picked up two bottles and looked over at Susan. “Do you want one, Susan?” he asked her.
“You know, I really don’t,” Susan replied. “No offense, but I’ve been working on a paper about the chemicals used in making plastics, and some of them are really harmful!”
“What do you mean?” Steve asked. “Aren’t plastics inert? Surely the government wouldn’t approve putting food and drink in plastic containers if it isn’t safe. I have heard that it’s bad to heat food in plastic containers, but I thought that was just for people who are totally paranoid about their safety.”
“Well, what I’ve been learning, Steve,” she replied, “is that plastics are not inert. I used to think that the harmful chemicals were limited to the making of plastics. But, if that’s not bad enough, it turns out that harmful chemicals come out of the plastic into the water you’re going to drink. They’re there in the milk in plastic bottles, and everything else in plastic. I swear, I can’t believe human beings are still alive and fertile, based on what I’ve been reading.”
“I hope you’re being a good scientist and looking at evidence rather than reading a bunch of crazy environmentalists’ tracts,” Steve responded.
Susan gave him a hard look. “Of course I am. You can read my paper when I’ve finished it. I’ve included several research articles that have good evidence showing that certain chemicals leach out of the plastic and into the water or whatever is being held in the plastic. It’s really quite convincing.”
“So, you’re never going to drink out of a plastic bottle again?” Steve asked.
“I don’t know,” Susan replied slowly. “It’s not easy to consider never using plastics, but I’m thinking about it. But you know, it’s more than that. It seems to me like someone needs to get more people to understand the issue. We shouldn’t just sit quietly by while we’re being poisoned companies that we rely on for certain products.”
Steve shook his head. “Well, let’s go watch the basketball game.”
Susan followed him into the arena, wondering what she would have to do to get people to understand the problem if she couldn’t even get Steve to think about the issue.
Questions
- How widespread is the use of plastics and how often do you think you come into contact with them? What are some less usual sources of plastic with which you come into daily contact?
- What kind of information would you want, as a scientist, to begin to determine if there are health risks associated with plastic containers? For example, would you be interested in animal studies? If so, what kinds of animals? What kinds of controls would you need?
- Design a simple experiment that could address the question about the safety of plastics.
Image credit: Water bottle photo ©Emin Ozkan/Fotolia.com
Date Posted: September 22, 2008.
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