Scientific American: Ishmael Tirado watches as his fellow construction workers rebuild the Steeplechase Pier, a central feature of New Yorks iconic Coney Island boardwalk. Planks of tropical ip wood that were torn asunder by last years Hurricane Sandy lie in grey stacks behind him, ready to be scrapped or recycled, but fresh boards are tellingly absent. When the pier reopens this summer, visitors will encounter a shiny expanse of recycled plastic jutting out to sea on a platform of steel-reinforced concrete. I think...