3D Printers to Save Hermit Crabs

The comments on this article have made me lose a great deal of hope for humanity.

Ignoring the fact that most plastic used as feedstock for makerbots is BIO-DEGRADABLE, are people really concerned about the prospect of dumping a few plastic shells into the ocean? Do they realize how absurdly huge the oceans are, and how astronomically insignificant this amount of plastic would be?

Besides, what's the worst case scenario here? Hermit crabs for hundreds of years are able to reuse the same shells? Oh the horror!.

The absolute vitriolic comments there are gut wrenching. Even when somebody posts clarifications (such as "the plan is to use them domestically, not dump them in the ocean") they just get flamed for "back pedaling". Either project members posted this to greenpeace boards with added insulting comments about their mothers, or there surely is something going on between the Makerbot chaps and some other group of people that I'm not aware of. This is just unnatural.

This is an interesting comment :

"This is stupid.

1. Consult with a marine biologist to find out if there is a real shortage of shells for hermit crabs to use.

Tip: There isn't. Source: I'm a marine biologist."

EDIT : I removed the last half of the comment because it addressed the issue of dumping plastic into the oceans, which has been addressed by someone else here (they often use bioplastics for 3D printing).

burgerbrain's comment here has a very valid point. I'm involved in the project, working on the 3d math behind generating these printable shells, and the public reaction is quite surprising to me. TeamTeamUSA has been working on this project for over a year, and the MakerBot people simply chose to help with some funding and support. So they issued a press release on their own. That is their choice. Everyone assuming so much, and coming to their extreme opinions is ridiculous. You'd think this was BP and Dick Cheney making the announcement.

For the record, the shells being printed now are prototypes, yes in plastic. The final material is not selected, but will be environmentally friendly. A biodegradable plastic made from corn and sugarcane is a likely candidate. The prototypes are being 'trial tested' with hermit crabs to insure they will adopt the artificial shells, they're not too heavy and so on. And the final goal is not to print shells willy-nilly and scatter them on beaches. The final process of distribution will be designed, guided and overseen by marine biologists who are already active and engaged in the project.

Everyone involved is a concerned, educated individual. The comments to Makerbot's PR post and it's repeats across the web are pure Internet mob stupidity.

>One of the challenges is that no one knows yet if hermit crabs will live in man-made plastic shells. And if they will, what shell designs would make the best hermit crab homes.

How come they don't print the kind of shells these crabs regularly scrounge up? I don't know about these crabs, but I imagine they have some favorite shell types they like to use. Ask a marine zoologist, no?

interesting - how much a "Nature saving" stuff a 3d printer needs to print to balance the impact on Nature caused by the producing of the printer (incl. all its components, delivery costs, electricity to produce and to operate the printer)