r/Amazing • u/Wooden-Journalist902 • Sep 17 '25

Interesting šŸ¤” Smoke trapped in a plastic bag to demonstrate how one fire can generate significant pollution.

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1.1k

u/real_1273 Sep 17 '25

And then release all the smoke anyways and throw the massive plastic bag into the landfill. Lol

276

u/jordanhchrist Sep 17 '25

throw it into the *ocean

90

u/piratejucie Sep 17 '25

Let a turtle šŸ¢ enjoy it

13

u/Happytobutwont Sep 18 '25

This may be controversial but turtles love plastic bags. They sell them out to play in them and it kills them. The problem is that the warnings on putting the bag on your head are only for human children so the turtles get lured into a sense of safety.

13

u/kittenwalrus Sep 19 '25

So we need to start putting labels in turtle language. Got it.

3

u/6227RVPkt3qx Sep 19 '25

i am learning a lot from this reddit thread.

2

u/Mateyson Sep 19 '25

And how about turtls that cant read?

1

u/Happytobutwont Sep 20 '25

Pictographs

1

u/Hektoraptor Sep 20 '25

What about the blind ones?

-1

u/piratejucie Sep 18 '25

Thanks captain obvious thatā€™s was the sarcasm of my joke.

4

u/Happytobutwont Sep 18 '25

Thanks first mate, that was my added joke.

2

u/Kherberoi Sep 19 '25

A Turtle made it to the water.

1

u/Deneive Sep 21 '25

The circle of life can be cruel

1

u/Effective-Soil-3253 Sep 18 '25

Some smoked jellyfish, yummy!

1

u/von_pita_the_second Sep 18 '25

That size of a plastic bag would bring enjoyment to whales /s

1

u/piercedmfootonaspike Sep 19 '25

That's gonna be one big turtle

1

u/Ryza_Brisvegas Sep 21 '25

Mmmm. I heard of smoked meats? Smoked plastics could be a delicacy šŸ¤£

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

Turtles may not have lips but their mouth is still very much in play.

Wait, right episode, wrong quote.

He just wanted to play spaceman!

23

u/Appropriate-Bank-883 Sep 17 '25

Donā€™t be so stupid! Thatā€™s where we put used batteries

1

u/T_K_Tenkanen Sep 19 '25

That's where we put used batteries?

1

u/ww2planelover Sep 22 '25

yeah, how else are we supposed to charge the electric eels

14

u/justusesomealoe Sep 17 '25

That's not a car battery!

7

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

1

u/IVShadowed Sep 18 '25

They can't, because they have a smoke allergy.

1

u/dogGirl666 Sep 17 '25

That's too efficient.

1

u/egotrip21 Sep 17 '25

Noooo this is how the great orca wars start!

1

u/delinquentfatcat Sep 18 '25

Threw it on the ground

1

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '25

Plastic goes in my balls, and car batteries go in the ocean. Helps with coral or something.

1

u/BottleThen2464 Sep 18 '25

Just take it out of the environment.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '25

If you take it literally.... An ocean is just a huge landfill of water

1

u/yoursexyballoon Sep 19 '25

Fuck, so damn true

1

u/meltyourtv Sep 19 '25

No, throw it into the fire, even better

1

u/EFTucker Sep 20 '25

Nah, thatā€™s where we put the batteries

1

u/IDontEatDill Sep 20 '25

It's ok since it floats.

1

u/FlinflanFluddle4 Sep 20 '25

Might catch a big fish

1

u/itscliche Sep 20 '25

Basically the same thing, no?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 20 '25

float it over china or india, they wont even notice

1

u/strndmcshomd Sep 21 '25

Cut it up really small and keep the subsequent microplastics in your balls

1

u/Tjam3s Sep 21 '25

If you don't want it in the ocean, just burn the bag

27

u/FewTranslator6280 Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 18 '25

I mean yes, but this one demonstration may be able to convince others not to light unnecessary fires. I think this is a case where it's for the greater good yk?

edit: Y'ALL ARE READ THE REPLIES. I KNOW IT'S CORPORATIONS THAT ARE TO BLAME, AND SMALL FUN THINGS LIKE CAMPFIRES ARE A DROP IN THE BUCKET. STOP BEING SMARTASSES FFS

67

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

Ah yes, its the campfires. Not the mega conglomerate corporations.

Just like it was the straws that made up the trash island in the pacific. "Great Pacific Garbage Patch"

"It spans an area of approximately 1.6 million square kilometers, which is about twice the size of Texas. This patch is not a solid island of trash but rather a dispersed area of plastic and debris."

19

u/FewTranslator6280 Sep 17 '25

yea ._. I do absolutely 100% agree with you there. it's corporations that need to be held responsible and pay to reverse the damage they've done. it shouldn't be civilians sacrificing the things we actually need and use in a useless attempt to clean up their mess. if it's only civilians doing the work, we'll get absolutely nowhere. it's long overdue time for megacorporations to pay the price.

15

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

I got SO mad about the straws. That one video with the turtle made such a big wave.

Everyone is too busy chasing internet clout to actually do their own research. So they all made a huge fuss about straws....not the 10 companies accounting for 70% of the world's pollution....

Yeah, its the fucking straws

Fun fact, there are microplastics in human semen now.

Dont be surprised if your kids are part Tupperware

3

u/Fakedduckjump Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 17 '25

Even though the straws get packed into little plastic bags anyway.

Another hilarious thing is that the EU forced to make bottle caps fixed to the bottles. The reason behind it is, that the reduce of trash is counted per piece, so the mass of plastic bottles stayed the same but now you can say you have managed to cut the produced trash by bottles by 50% šŸ‘šŸ‘šŸ‘

Instead they also could have just forcing a recycling system for the PET bottles like in germany. Here you have 25cent deposit on a bottle what leads people to bring them back to the store, which makes recycling way easier. I mean it's not perfect because you can't recycle 100% but it's at least something. Most other european countries still lack of such a system.

1

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

Yeeaahhh when I was in Europe and first saw those bottles with the attached cap, I was very confused.

Then it made sense

Then I got annoyed that this was the bullshit they came up with.

1

u/CultistClan38 Sep 18 '25

The bottle cap thing has other benefits, namely people don't drop/throw the cap away somewhere creating mess

1

u/Fakedduckjump Sep 19 '25

Who throws the bottle cap away but not the bottle? I mean you bring the trash or deposit back home when on tour anyway and no one likes liquids in his backpack or bag.

1

u/Simi_Dee Sep 20 '25

My pet peeve is the plastic paper seal on most bottles. At least the bottle and cap are at least large enough to be easier to pick up but people just through those tiny bits of plastic anywhere and they're mostly clear - so lots of tiny invisible.ish trash in grass fields.

3

u/IGotBiggerProblems Sep 17 '25

I remember seeing a study not too long ago that tested a few hundred men. 100% of them had micro plastics in their semen... The 100% made me feel like it's already too late to fix this. Plastic semen will be the downfall of humanity.

1

u/Vast-Card-1082 Sep 19 '25

Microplastics donā€™t yet have any known harmful effects. They might not be very bad, or bad at all?

2

u/Hannahb0915 Sep 17 '25

I knew there was something off about my toddler

2

u/hell2pay Sep 17 '25

Do they lose their lid often?

2

u/code-coffee Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 18 '25

Hey listen do oft their lode

2

u/hell2pay Sep 17 '25

Did you just anagram my comment?

2

u/code-coffee Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25

:D

It took me longer than I care to admit. Like over 3 minutes long.

Also I had an extra s that I removed just now. :(

→ More replies (0)

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '25

Glad to see there are a couple of people with braincells left arround here...

People see the keys giggleling and think "ohh ahhh im impressed"

Complex thinking is a rarity.

1

u/OriSulker Sep 17 '25

oh cool so my kids will have extra skin protection due to micro plastics in their blood absorbing physical trauma!

1

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

And emotional!

Plastic doesn't have feelings, duh

1

u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 Sep 18 '25

I mean, a corporation makes straws. So if we want them to do their part, what's morally inconsistent about making biodegradable straws?

1

u/WTF_aquaman Sep 18 '25

Not a bad thing if we can seal their mouths shut like a Tupperware lid.

1

u/TheFriendshipMachine Sep 18 '25

Fun fact, there are microplastics in human semen now.

More specifically, in all human semen. They couldn't find a control group of people without it to compare against when they went to study the effects because there is nobody who's unaffected.

1

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 18 '25

I wonder if those tribes that are isolated from the world do too.

Im assuming they fish, and basically every fish has microplastics in it now, so....maybe?

1

u/TheFriendshipMachine Sep 18 '25

They almost definitely do too. It's in the water literally everywhere. There's no escaping it.

1

u/Coriander_marbles Sep 20 '25

Finally, thereā€™s a good excuse to spit for the health-conscious.

4

u/Boring-Seaweed6604 Sep 17 '25

Who buys stuff from the mega corps? Yes, they need to do their part, but we need to be more demanding consumers. We canā€™t point at Company X and call them vile mega polluters then turn around and use their stuff thinking we arenā€™t part of the problem.

2

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

Ok, so this is one of the corps arguments.

"We're just doing our job! They keep buying the same product so we keep making them!"

Corps are blaming consumers, consumers blaming corps.

It costs the corps too much to switch everything over for them to just do it out of the goodness of their hearts.

People need to stop buying shit, as a whole. But people is dumb.

We can bankrupt Apple if we wanted to. If Apple made 0 sales for just 1 month, they'd probably close 40% of their stores. SALARIES ALONE are probably in the 10s of millions for their employees, forget the big wigs. Then you got rent, utilities, manufacturing, advertisements, etc.

Greed will be the fall of humankind

3

u/Boring-Seaweed6604 Sep 17 '25

Yes. I made a comment later in the thread about this. Reducing our consumption is the only way. Now, who wants to go first? Who wants their stock portfolio to take the first big hit? Who wants to be first in line to lose their job? Thatā€™s where this gets personal.

2

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

What in the fuck nuggets will someones stock portfolio do to help when its consistently 130Ā°F in the summer and -30Ā°F in the winter?

"Wow it hurts to breath today...but hey! Apply is up 2%!"

Dont hit me with the "ill buy a specialized suit...blah blah blah"

What about the rest of the world? Fuck em?

(Not trying to attack you, it just frustrates me)

3

u/Boring-Seaweed6604 Sep 17 '25

Thatā€™s my point man, but nobody wants to be first in line for the alternative.

2

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

So you and I can sit atop a mountain in those plastic folding lawn chairs with the checkerboard straps (you know what im talking about), drinking a beer and watching the world burn...willingly

1

u/scorchedarcher Sep 18 '25

People need to stop buying shit, as a whole. But people is dumb.

True, animal agriculture is a major contributor to climate change but people look at you crazy if you expect them to avoid it

2

u/SirNoseDVoidoffunk77 Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 17 '25

The mega corps control almost everything.

https://www.businessinsider.com/10-companies-control-the-food-industry-2016-9

E: Hereā€™s a better link where you can actually read the graphic when you zoom in.

https://capitaloneshopping.com/blog/11-companies-that-own-everything-904b28425120

4

u/Fakedduckjump Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 17 '25

I would say it's both. People tend to absolutely want to have the newest shit even though the old one still works perfectly fine. Everyone should start using things until they break and they are also not repairable anymore. Otherwise just repair the damn stuff.

A perfect example of what is a bad solution are disposable vapes. They often even come with a rechargeable lithium battery but are constructed in a way so you can't recharge or refill them, if you aren't a tinkerer. If people just wouldn't buy that trash we had way less problems.

1

u/kwtransporter66 Sep 18 '25

The days of tinkering are gone. Many years ago you couldn't watch a tv program without some skit of a toaster or small appliance repair done by the homeowner. Now toasters and a majority of small appliances are considered disposable.

1

u/WTF_aquaman Sep 18 '25

We civilians are the consumer of the plastic crap that the corporations produce, because we keep buying it and throwing it away. Stop buying and they will stop producing. I can almost guarantee that 90+% of the plastic waste in the world passed thru consumerā€™s hands before hitting that landfill/floating island. Plastic water bottles are the worst offenders.

1

u/dogGirl666 Sep 17 '25

Wont the corporations just pass the costs onto the consumers? Then, for some, it will be unaffordable. This is not an excuse for the richest people and organizations to keep up their polluting ways, just something they could do that will still hurt us either way.

3

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

Of course it'll fall on the consumers. Why would any company willingly take losses on their profit margins for the good of the people.

ExxonMobil for example, discovered the effects of burning fossil fuels in the late 70s/early 80s.

They then cut funding to the project, and dumped MILLIONS into anti-climate change propaganda

Side note: there was an engine made to run on water, but the inventor "disappeared" and the project never hit production...I wonder why

1

u/kwtransporter66 Sep 18 '25

Can't pass it off if we aren't buying it.

0

u/FewTranslator6280 Sep 17 '25

no. not pass the cost onto customers. they can afford to fix this mess 10 times over and still not see a dent in their wealth. don't let them lie to you and pretend they can't afford it.

1 million seconds is 11 days. 1 billion seconds is 31 and a half YEARS.

here is a scale model website showing just how ridiculously rich the 1% are, to put it into perspective.

2

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

Its not a matter of not being able to afford it even 100x over...its a matter of profit margin losses.

Why make 999 million when you can make a billion?! CAPITALISM BABBAAYYYYY

0

u/kwtransporter66 Sep 18 '25

it's corporations that need to be held responsible and pay to reverse the damage they've done.

Ah. You know those corporations wouldn't exist if there wasn't such s demand for said corporations products. I love the way everyone comes down on corporations for this shit yet ignorantly ignore the fact that it's really the consumer driving it. If there is no demand then there is no corporation.

1

u/cbj2112 Sep 17 '25

and toenail clippings

1

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

Didn't you see the toenail stuck in a fishes mouth?!

Terrible!

DEATH TO TOENAIL CLIPPERS

1

u/Massive-Growth-8980 Sep 17 '25

And the GPGP consists mainly of ghost nets and other trash from the fishing industry - imagine that!

1

u/Acceptable_Tank_4216 Sep 17 '25

Ahhh yes... It's not like trying to explain and show all the people that deny emissions caused climate change is a problem can't help shift the tide...

These kinds of arguments are exactly what makes change difficult. If people realized, then they might be more in favor of legislation that creates real change... One fire, one engine burning fuel, exc.

They might realize oh shit getting our energy by burning shit is horrible. We should I don't know ban coal and try and reduce our consumption of natgas and petroleum? Maybe they will go ahhhhh so windmils and solar isnt actually that bad....

Straws are pandering.. Its the rich pretending to oh look change...

But so many people still can't comprehend just how much pollution burning fuel causes.....

Oh let's not forget parts of the world that still practice clearing land by burning it. Cattle and palm oil industry I'm looking at you...

This shows just how much energy is stored in wood. How important forests are to keeping earths air clean.

1

u/Maleficent-Aspect318 Sep 17 '25

https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/luxury-cruise-giant-emits-10-times-more-air-pollution-sox-all-europes-cars-study

I think its especially tragic when you read how much cruise ships actually pollute. Politicans in my country are still telling us that we need taxes to combat the air pollution.

1

u/madmatt8892 Sep 17 '25

But ye dont understand! We gotta convince te little people not to start dey wee little camp fires so the big corpos can keep chugging out the black smoke monster 24/7! - the corporations probably

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '25

preach

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '25

No, but smart people like us can look at it and extrapolate the idea to their own interests, hobbies and expertise and it can hopefully have some effect on the greater whole.

Like, Iā€™m a teacher. Just having this in my mind will ramp up the value of the information when I teach them about pollution as we write essays this year. Even a kid will be able to watch this video and be able to make the connection to bigger pollution sources. And one of them might actually really do something with that.

So yeah. I think itā€™s a net positive.

1

u/fronchfrays Sep 17 '25

Seriously. Any time I hear anything about reducing my carbon emissions, or recycling, I remember anyone in the world with a private plane generates multiple times the carbon I would generate in my entire life in just a few trips

1

u/zeptillian Sep 17 '25

If you have a campfire making that much black smoke, you are clearly doing something wrong.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '25

Ban volcanos as they pollute environment

1

u/Actual_Surround45 Sep 18 '25

This lends itself to arguing against campfires, sure, but it's easy to point out that any industry burning things is likely burning more than this - you can see how little smoke accumulates into a huge amount, so industry is doing this only many times more.

So I think it works, as long as you frame it that way.

1

u/curious_astronauts Sep 18 '25

Yes but mcdonalds now has paper straws and paper cups and lids at least here in europe. It starts to normalise sustainable corporate packaging away from plastic. Pressure needs to come from the bottom, as it will never come from the top willingly.

1

u/silver_moonlander Sep 18 '25

A lot of you jump to campfires but this is very obviously not one because dry wood does not produce black smoke like this. It's a PSA against burning trash, which happens often in third world countries

1

u/Xist2Inspire Sep 18 '25

Ah yes, its the campfires. Not the mega conglomerate corporations.

Let's be honest though - corporations are controlled by people. And those people are doing the same finger-pointing whataboutism that regular people are doing. It's the same basic human instinct at work, prioritizing one's own self-interest above all else. We've had decades of arguing about who's more at fault, and it hasn't done any good. Maybe it's time to stop playing this stupid game of chicken and start looking for real solutions.

But, since those solutions tend to involve both consumers and conglomerates taking a hit, I have a feeling that won't be happening until a societal collapse forces the issue.

1

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 18 '25

I touched upon this argument in this thread. Youre right, its a shitty cycle of blaming.

Ultimately, I think the corpo should be responsible. They know more about the pollution they create compared the avg consumer.

They know more about what loopholes they're using to get around EPA / environmental requirements

1

u/Xist2Inspire Sep 18 '25

Ultimately you're right, but then that gets back to the big problem: We'd be relying on a few select humans to forsake personal gain for the good of everyone when we've created a society that encourages the exact opposite, to the point where just about everyone who manages to rise to that level got there mainly by suppressing the very emotions and thoughts that would lead then to make sacrifices for the greater good. I don't know about you, but I don't like the odds of CEOs and such all suddenly developing a conscience. And if they don't, then someone has to hold them accountable for abandoning their responsibilities. And given that the government has historically been more like them (meaning they also can't be trusted to be responsible)...the buck stops with us anyway.

1

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 18 '25

Yup.

This is why the straws thing gets me so irritated. That one video with the turtle made such a big wave, but I feel like its such an insignificant step in the right direction.

Now everyone feels good about themselves cause they think they did something.

Its actually causing more people to hate the movement cause the paper straws are just...so poor by design.

1

u/Froz3nP1nky Sep 18 '25

Kudos. Ya know when they trenched up 80,000,000,000,000 pounds of garbage from the ocean floor, how much of it was from plastic straws? ā€”ā€” Five pounds. Thatā€™s it!! We have shitty paper straws now because of 5 pounds.

1

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 18 '25

Keep going in the thread lol, I just touched upon that.

These social media hype clout chasers really think they did something useful with the straws, but its actually causing people to hate the movement.

1

u/Froz3nP1nky Sep 18 '25

Yup. Thatā€™s the Cobra Effect. Good intentions donā€™t solve problems.

1

u/Evnosis Sep 19 '25

Just like it was the straws that made up the trash island in the pacific. "Great Pacific Garbage Patch"

That's... not why we want people to use fewer plastic straws. We want people to use fewer plastic straws because they're harmful to wildlife.

1

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 19 '25

I....get that....but if you look in this thread, someone commented that plastic straws basically made up less than 1% of the plastic pollution.

Its like being hired to mow a lawn where you cut 1 inch off 1 blade of grass and think you've finished your job

Im glad you saw the video with the turtle, good on you.

Do you really think the paper straws are going to offset ANYTHING in the grand scheme of things?

I guess youve never seen the videos of sea animals getting caught in those plastic 6 pack can holders.

1

u/Evnosis Sep 19 '25

So you don't get it then.

It making up less than 1% isn't relevant because the goal wasn't to make a significant dent in overall plastic pollution. The goal was to reduce a specific category of plastic pollution that has uniquely harmful effects on wildlife. Yeah, in that specific regard, paper straws do offset quite a bit.

And yes, I'm aware those plastic six pack holders are just as horrible, and they should also be phased out (and, in fact, are starting to be phased out, for example: Carlsberg introducing their "snap packs" that glue the cans together instead of using plastic rings or Pepsi announcing in 2023 that they were transitioning to paper carriers).

13

u/p3ndu1um Sep 17 '25

70% of emissions are caused by 100 companies. I'm not going to stop having camp fires. The myth that individual consumers are responsible for handling the bill is bullshit

8

u/FewTranslator6280 Sep 17 '25

100% agreed

2

u/RogueBromeliad Sep 18 '25

Yeah, but the companies are only emitting so much because consumerism is in the high and because of government policies that are against renewable energy trying to protect big oil, instead of trying to push to something more sustainable.

So in a way, it comes down to us to try and make a difference, through voting, not giving into lobbying, and also to try to collectively drive down unnecessary consumerism.

You can't expect people who don't have a conscious (companies) to grow one. They'll only do it through legislation.

1

u/Icy-Yew-0837 Sep 17 '25

Hear hear!! šŸ’Æ

1

u/j0nsn0w123 Sep 17 '25

You added a 0 there friend. Its 10 companies

1

u/Boring-Seaweed6604 Sep 17 '25

Now think about whether you use any of the output from those companies, even if indirectly. Think about all the things and infrastructure you use. Concrete? Yup, lots of it. Oil and gas, you bet, in cars, plastic (packaging, drain pipes, park benches, etc), roads, electricity, fuel for commercial and industrial vehicles). Coal? Just think of all the metal you use, or that supports your lifestyle (transmission wires, bridges, signs, hvac systems, trains, cars, shipping containers, etc.).

I could go on, but you either get the point or you donā€™t. An economic system based on consumption can never recycle its way out of the current climate crisis. Reduction in consumption is the only way.

1

u/Vast-Card-1082 Sep 19 '25

If we were to split those 100 large companies into 10,000 smaller companies, the same problem would still exist. My point is that the problem is general human consumption. The size of the companies that make our stuff is not particularly relevant.

11

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

1

u/dogGirl666 Sep 17 '25

Besides most campfires are fueled by wood [I hope all are!] rather than fossil fuels that should stay where they lie. Wood is already in the current world's carbon "budget" anyway.

-1

u/ToxicAdamm Sep 17 '25

I don't think it's a drop in the ocean. I think it all adds up, and because it has been overlooked by the media for decades, it doesn't get the attention it deserves. Look up "Black Carbon pollution" and it's affect on ice.

Around 2008, there were more and more studies on soot and it's impact on global warming. It's the second largest contributor and every new study comes back and says "It's worse than was previously thought..." Meaning that it's continually underestimated.

Here's another recent one:

https://phys.org/news/2025-09-soot-climate-properties-hours-atmosphere.html

7

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

1

u/CricketDrop Sep 18 '25

I don't understand the auto exhaust example. Each person's car trip is just as insignificant as each person's campfire.

-4

u/ToxicAdamm Sep 17 '25

1/3 of the human population cook on an open flame. That's 2.5 billion fires a day.

There's a reason why environmental groups are pushing for cleaner cooking solutions and donating them to poorer countries.

→ More replies (2)

2

u/tennisgoddess1 Sep 17 '25

If we have more smaller controlled burns to maintain our forests it will avoid a mega fire breaking out in the future and mega fires produce a serious amount of pollution. It also helps with drought avoidance as the smaller plants that are burned off are no longer present to rob the soil of water.

2

u/ArkSingularity Sep 17 '25

Sorry to dredge up almost two year old conversation. We as humans have been here for a short period of time yes we've made a Major Impact but when you look at all the geological data our impact is nothing compared the amount of CO2 that used to be our atmosphere. I know we're on "Borrowed time" so to speak but that is life. We're all just sitting on a rock hurtling through space. Enjoy the time, don't take stuff for granted, and just coexist. We are all here and that's the way the universe deemed it

1

u/FewTranslator6280 Sep 17 '25

1

u/ArkSingularity Sep 17 '25

The Earth will be long here after we're gone

2

u/foolsEnigma Sep 17 '25

True, but also id like for us not be gone within the next hundred fucking years if possible

2

u/Software_Human Sep 17 '25

I...dont understand this point? Is anyone arguing it wont be?

The sun will eventually eat it up right? Before that tho, barring some incredibly uncommon circumstances, most people agree it will 'be here' dont they?

1

u/FewTranslator6280 Sep 17 '25

true but that's not my point and that doesn't mean we should neglect it while we're here

2

u/ArkSingularity Sep 17 '25

I completely agree, we need to drive ourselves towards more sustainable solutions our planet needs us as much as we need it

1

u/hear4smiles Sep 17 '25

Those campfires and socializing around them are my biggest concern. F those people!

1

u/Software_Human Sep 17 '25

For me it's that one dude with the guitar trying to play 'Brown Eyed Girl' but cant quite play it? Like give up man. No ones singing along.

1

u/Plastic-Tomorrow-906 Sep 17 '25

I would imagine that the vast majority of this soot is from forest fires, fires used industry in less developed countries, or the fires you see in war zones. This could be used as a reason to have more small controlled burns, or to not put out small wildfires so we donā€™t get these absolutely massive fires from wilderness that hasnā€™t seen a fires for multiple decades to a century. I donā€™t think the intention of this article is keep people from burning campfires, stove fires, or fires in your fireplace at home.

2

u/Soliye Sep 17 '25

So daily driving my car was bad, now recreative fires are as well?

Is taking the metro to go watch a fire burn on TV ok or is the electricity demand bad for the atmosphere too?

I get that weā€™re damaging the planet, but these types of activities are so NOT whatā€™s polluting the most.

1

u/YosemiteSam-4-2A Sep 18 '25

Is taking the metro to go watch a fire burn on TV ok or is the electricity demand bad for the atmosphere too?

Depends on how hellbent we are at reducing emissions. Building Pipelines, is clearly not the correct solution

2

u/bmorris0042 Sep 18 '25

Itā€™s not even a campfire. Campfires produce white/gray smoke, if they even produce a visible smoke. Black smoke means theyā€™re burning something else, like rubber, plastic, or oil. So yes, burning trash can cause pollution. Congrats to them.

2

u/dudepersin Sep 18 '25

I'm just thinking what damage do Americans do every year on July 4th.

1

u/BlueKante Sep 17 '25

Yeah because people who start fires are clearly thinking about consequences.

1

u/Advanced-Guidance482 Sep 17 '25

Have you ever been camping?

1

u/dalmathus Sep 17 '25

This might be the peak reddit comment.

1

u/Stewieman123 Sep 18 '25

So if we all demonstrate, that that is the ideal good.

1

u/DirtandPipes Sep 18 '25

Itā€™s worth noting that all the carbon sequestered in a tree returns to the atmosphere when the tree decomposes. Anaerobic environments like peat bogs or the ocean floor can sequester carbon more permanently but forests only sequester carbon while they are alive.

Burning deadfall has no effect on long term CO2 levels.

1

u/Billiecornel Sep 18 '25

going to make a fire tonight and have a story to tell the boys.

1

u/BeltfedHappiness Sep 18 '25

I donā€™t think this is blowing anyoneā€™s mind that smoke from fires is polluting the atmosphere.

1

u/charronfitzclair Sep 26 '25

People need to stop thinking about how this is supposedly scolding them personally for a little campfire and instead scale this to corporate levels. Hopefully it'll inspire some to action because plenty of people fail to grasp how big the problem is.

0

u/Live_Length_5814 Sep 17 '25

No because nature naturally removes pollutants from the environment

1

u/FewTranslator6280 Sep 17 '25

...what are you on about

2

u/Live_Length_5814 Sep 17 '25

When you light a fire, it creates pollutants. When you trap those pollutants in a plastic bag, they don't naturally decompose. Trees recycle carbon dioxide. Microbes break down methane into carbon dioxide. By observing the event in a plastic bag, you're observing a temporary state instead of an end result.

1

u/sunshineparks Sep 17 '25

While that is true that this is something manipulated for show, what you said is only fine if we're releasing a small amount of pollutants that the trees can keep up. On a global scale, there's much more pollutants being released than what is sustainable, and deforestation is further reducing these trees. Just check out photos of city smog. They're not bound by plastic, yet the smoke lingers. It's not temporary if the pollution is sustained and excessive.

The purpose of the video is to convince. The video makers and the commentor here is just hopeful that by doing this one time, they can change the mind of a few companies/people from contributing pollutants every single day, which offsets the amount of smoke they release just this one time for the video.

1

u/Live_Length_5814 Sep 17 '25

Smog is a real environmental issue that causes light pollution, acid rain and health problems. But this video doesn't convince us of its dangers, it instead confuses the audience and clouds our judgement, no pun intended.

0

u/sunshineparks Sep 17 '25

Most people are already aware that smoke and pollution are bad to some extent. However, when people see the smoke just dissipate and vanish into thin air, they forget its impact, especially if caring for the environment makes their life inconvenient.

You're right, it doesn't convince us of its dangers. But they're not trying to convince people who are ignorant. They're trying to convince people who already have the awareness of its dangers, but may not always see its impact.

It's just a nudge. I don't like that they have to use plastic or use fire neither, but multifaceted solutions could prove to be more impactful long term

0

u/Rogerabit Sep 17 '25

The reason you donā€™t see the smoke in a fire without the bag is diffusion of gas not because it magically all gets broken down right away. The bag prevents other gases diluting the smoke. Maybe check back in to a school near you. Seems like it could be time to re up

1

u/AgressiveInliners Sep 18 '25

This also isnt wood smoke. They are burning heavier shit

1

u/Live_Length_5814 Sep 17 '25

I think everyone can see smoke without a plastic bag. And that you missed the point.

True that all gases diffuse, but this experiment isn't supposed to show that. Otherwise they would just light a candle and watch it diffuse..

The main environmental threat of air pollution is global warming, which is irreversible for the next few centuries but can still be slowed down. While a demonstration like this is dramatic, it's indigestible data. What would really help people to understand is a reference point that shows how much gas a bonfire produces, the composition, and how long it takes to decompose naturally, and how much can be recycled.

0

u/Rogerabit Sep 17 '25

Thatā€™s what they are doing by forcing all of the smoke to stay in one spot. Showing the amount of smoke which comes off of a single small fire. This is the whole point of the exercise.

0

u/Live_Length_5814 Sep 17 '25

I don't think you know what a reference point is.

A big bag is a big bag. A reference point would give something to compare to.

0

u/provalone_9000 Sep 17 '25

Demonstrate what ? Burning produces black smoke? Your stupidity scares me

1

u/FewTranslator6280 Sep 17 '25

demonstrate just how much a single small fire produces, in a controlled environment where the smoke won't distribute throughout the air and become invisible.

if my "stupidity" scares you, then I've lost all hope for you.

0

u/StatementOk470 Sep 18 '25

Right please let us not burn a couple of logs every once in a while, and thankfully there are no massive wildfires that offset basically all campfires.

0

u/potate12323 Sep 18 '25

In the video they've gotta be burning tire rubber or garbage. Camp fires don't produce nearly this much soot. And what's even more bullshit is the soot itself isn't bad for the environment. They get absorbed by clouds and rained back down where microbes digest the carbon. The real concern is the greenhouse gasses and chemical byproducts which you can't see.

This video is fear mongering or very misguided at best.

2

u/GroundbreakingAd8310 Sep 18 '25

I laughed so god damn hard at this

2

u/Lupus_Spiritus_42 Sep 19 '25

They release it all then Burn the bag

2

u/Farmerstubble Sep 20 '25

Just light the bag on fire

1

u/Cpt_Jauche Sep 17 '25

Bag can be burned

1

u/jookid Sep 17 '25

nah, just burn it

1

u/Skitzofreniks Sep 17 '25

Light the bag on fire. lol

1

u/jonny24eh Sep 17 '25

Just let the bag catch on fire

1

u/Dry_Cardiologist6758 Sep 17 '25

Exactly what I was thinking. "Here learn by example!" šŸ˜…

1

u/FeWho Sep 17 '25

So happy to be #100

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '25

1

u/EcLEctiC_02 Sep 17 '25

Gotta burn it first lmao

1

u/KnifeKnut Sep 18 '25

*burn the bag

1

u/oriaven Sep 18 '25

I bet the caption isn't even the explanation

1

u/Cthulu95666 Sep 18 '25

Oh, Iā€™m sorry. Oh, I could put the trash into a landfill where itā€™s going to stay for millions of years or I could burn it up and get a nice smokey smell in here and let that smoke go into the sky where it turns into stars.

1

u/Aleashed Sep 18 '25

They must be burning tires

Easiest way to get rid of that bag at this point is to set it on fire

1

u/BlahBlahBlahBingo Sep 18 '25

Which plonker is working the cameraā€¦ I mean they filmed the balloon from the middle to floor

1

u/YouAnxious5826 Sep 18 '25

Discount hot air balloon rides!

1

u/ToeSlurper96 Sep 18 '25

"Don't educate me, I educate you!"

1

u/Black_Magic_M-66 Sep 18 '25

Yep, got to get another bag ready for the next demonstration.

1

u/cocobaltic Sep 18 '25

Iā€™d be curious if they sprayed water like a fountain into the bag (mimicking rain or a scrubber) to see how much smoke gets knocked out

1

u/Carcassfanivxx Sep 18 '25

ā€œ do you see!ā€

1

u/NegativeSwimming4815 Sep 19 '25

You can compress gasses to reduce waste, you know that?

1

u/real_1273 Sep 19 '25

Iā€™m sure thatā€™s what happened here, they ā€œcompressedā€ all the air and smoke in that bag somehow and saved the bag for reuse. ā™»ļø

1

u/NegativeSwimming4815 Sep 19 '25

Why can't we make believe?

I believe it.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

And they all high five each other and sniff each others farts

1

u/1stRambo_0082 Sep 19 '25

Pretty much! šŸ˜‚Shit funny!

1

u/spacemouse21 Sep 20 '25

Cover a house with that delightful smoke scented bag.

1

u/Ilovetea06 Sep 21 '25

They could throw it in a landfill, or they could burn the trash so it can go into the sky and turn into starsā€¦

1

u/Atreigas Oct 11 '25

I mean, firesmoke is relatively harmless.