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US Army Wants Bullets That Sprout Plants


Claire.

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US Army Wants Biodegradable Bullets That Sprout Plants

Not only are bullets a physical hazard, but they're an environmental hazard, too. At US Armytraining facilities around the world, hundreds of thousands of spent shells litter proving grounds. Because there is no efficient way to clean up the shells, they're left where they fall. But that's a problem. The shells, which contain metal and other chemicals, can rust and pollute soils and groundwater.

The DoD wants to do something about it, though. They're soliciting proposals for biodegradable bullets "loaded with specialized seeds to grow environmentally beneficial plants that eliminate ammunition debris and contaminants." Such materials best suited for these bullets could include the same biodegradable plasticsused to make water bottles or plastic containers. Or it could be some other material altogether.

Read more: Live Science

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A kinder, gentler, more environmentally friendly army.

 

Why do they insist on hurting my head like this?

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Presumably they figure that the people of whichever benighted Third World country won't mind how many of their people are killed by the next half-baked intervention, since they'll leave lots of nice pretty flowers behind them? 

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12 hours ago, OverSword said:

Why do they insist on hurting my head like this?

I know right?! Its like something out of a Philip K Dick novel.

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On 1/12/2017 at 8:14 AM, Emma_Acid said:

I know right?! Its like something out of a Philip K Dick novel.

I'm torn between quoting Vonnegut or Heller for this one. 

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1 hour ago, Socks Junior said:

I'm torn between quoting Vonnegut or Heller for this one. 

I was actually going to edit my post and say it's more Vonnegut.

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While I'm all good with the notion of using biodegradable plastic for shell casings if it is feasible..... the notion of putting seeds into it is just... weird. Unless those bullets were really specialized to areas... what might be environmentally beneficial in one area is easily a noxious weed or just won't grow in another area.

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On 12.1.2017 at 1:40 AM, Claire. said:

They're soliciting proposals for biodegradable bullets "loaded with specialized seeds to grow environmentally beneficial plants that eliminate ammunition debris and contaminants."

As per an uncomfirmed news the first outdoor tests will be carried out with weed seeds.

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i can imagine someone shooting with one of those plant bullets and then become treeman a bit later

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Bad idea.  To be environmentally harmless, those seeds have to be native to the site.  Even if the army had enough "environmental" bullets I can't imagine them getting the right bullets to the right place.

Remember Agent Orange?  It was a known carcinogen and dangerous to use, but the military let thousands of troops get exposed anyway.  Why?  Because some dip-squid thought it was an herbicide and wouldn't hurt people.

Want to protect the environment?  Doing away with war would be a big step.

Doug

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On 1/14/2017 at 6:14 PM, toast said:

As per an uncomfirmed news the first outdoor tests will be carried out with weed seeds.

Could make a good subtle weapon. Drop bombloads of non-native invasive species, so it'll overrun their native crops and they'll have to spend all their time getting rid of it. Botanical warfare. I wouldn't be surprised if they have already tried it.

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7 hours ago, Manfred von Dreidecker said:

Could make a good subtle weapon. Drop bombloads of non-native invasive species, so it'll overrun their native crops and they'll have to spend all their time getting rid of it. Botanical warfare. I wouldn't be surprised if they have already tried it.

In a way... some people do already do that. Seed bombs. Not with the intent of utilizing non-native weeds to wreck crops though. But using good seeds that should be able to grow in an area. This is kind of a trend with urban gardeners, to use gorilla gardening to bomb places that don't have things growing, like the strips of dirt between sidewalks and the street, or other open spots. After they drop their bomb, they just let mother nature take over and hope for the best. Some gardeners use bombs a bit more wisely, and place them where they can tend to them.

A lot of times seed bombs don't work because seeds do actually need some care after sowing in order to sprout and grow. Or because they are the wrong kind of seeds, or seeds that have been damaged due to mishandling, or too many seeds in a bomb so the plant mass choked itself out in the sprout stage, or just the ground wasn't suitable to host sprouting seeds.. People do that with seed papers too, just slap it down and walk away then wonder why they didn't get no plants.

To use seed bombs as botanical warfare would pose the same problems as biodegradable bullets. It would take some specialization in what species of plants to use along with a working knowledge of the target areas agriculture cycle to be able to pick the right kinds of seeds to drop in the right places at the right times.. just too tricky. And then like Doug suggested with the Agent Orange... If you used seed bombing, you had better hope that the target area does not have access to herbicides that can kill whatever seed you drop. Or make sure you GMO your seeds to be herbicide resistant before you use them.

 

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