Comments on: With Funding from OVP, Novomer Works to Make Diapers and Other Plastic Goodies from Carbon Gases http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/08/19/with-funding-from-ovp-novomer-works-to-make-diapers-and-other-plastic-goodies-from-carbon-gases/ Business + Technology in the Exponential Economy Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:29:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Friendly Diapers - Hearing set for sex offender in child-assault case - Tulsa World « Friendly Diapers http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/08/19/with-funding-from-ovp-novomer-works-to-make-diapers-and-other-plastic-goodies-from-carbon-gases/comment-page-1/#comment-76338 Friendly Diapers - Hearing set for sex offender in child-assault case - Tulsa World « Friendly Diapers Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:32:01 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=38129#comment-76338 [...] With Funding from OVP, Novomer Works to Make Diapers and Other Plastic - XconomyCarbon monoxide and carbon dioxide get a bad rap. Sure, the first is a silent killer that binds to hemoglobin and suffocates people in burning buildings, and the second is poisoning our atmosphere and driving global temperatures out of control. But [...] [...] With Funding from OVP, Novomer Works to Make Diapers and Other Plastic – XconomyCarbon monoxide and carbon dioxide get a bad rap. Sure, the first is a silent killer that binds to hemoglobin and suffocates people in burning buildings, and the second is poisoning our atmosphere and driving global temperatures out of control. But [...]

]]> By: Wade Roush http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/08/19/with-funding-from-ovp-novomer-works-to-make-diapers-and-other-plastic-goodies-from-carbon-gases/comment-page-1/#comment-76045 Wade Roush Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:40:45 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=38129#comment-76045 Ty, I can see where you're coming from, but I think it's a lot more realistic to look for renewable feedstocks for making plastic than it is to talk about not making plastic anymore. What are we supposed to make our computers and phones out of, wood? Marble? Novomer's process really does reduce the volume of fossil-fuel byproducts needed to make plastics. And I didn't mention it in the story, but if you incinerate Novomer's plastic, you get carbon dioxide and water---there are no other toxic leftovers. Ty, I can see where you’re coming from, but I think it’s a lot more realistic to look for renewable feedstocks for making plastic than it is to talk about not making plastic anymore. What are we supposed to make our computers and phones out of, wood? Marble? Novomer’s process really does reduce the volume of fossil-fuel byproducts needed to make plastics. And I didn’t mention it in the story, but if you incinerate Novomer’s plastic, you get carbon dioxide and water—there are no other toxic leftovers.

]]> By: Ty http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/08/19/with-funding-from-ovp-novomer-works-to-make-diapers-and-other-plastic-goodies-from-carbon-gases/comment-page-1/#comment-76028 Ty Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:38:42 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=38129#comment-76028 Why would we want more traditional plastics? The Novomer business is traditional fossil fuel extraction and conversion into persistent and environmentally-toxic materials -- how is this, on net, beneficial to our human health and environmental goals? The metaphor, “spending $14 million of valuable, high-risk financial capital to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic”, comes to mind. If it wasn't part of the diligence process, at some point, someone is going to do some stoichiometry. Why would we want more traditional plastics? The Novomer business is traditional fossil fuel extraction and conversion into persistent and environmentally-toxic materials — how is this, on net, beneficial to our human health and environmental goals?

The metaphor, “spending $14 million of valuable, high-risk financial capital to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic”, comes to mind. If it wasn’t part of the diligence process, at some point, someone is going to do some stoichiometry.

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