scott2000 said:
I see electric cars and solar panels on houses everywhere? Usually it's expensive to get into the game but, I'm guessing you mean by no willingness, you are talking about a more focused strategy to get everyone greener regardless of income? My neighbor just got a Tesla and I'd love to be able to afford one...Pretty cool looking to boot...but I'm not picky.... the Volts are nice too.... And I just can't afford solar panels but wouldn't mind if my utility co's large solar field could do it.... They do a lot of natural gas too but, I'm not sure what the ratio is of the three methods they use.....
Electric cars are a prime example. They are not a solution, just a diversion from the problem. We must first do away with the crazy habit of traveling and transporting without a reason.
We've been upscaling for too long. Starting with farming, we need smaller farms. Smaller farms can be closer to the consumer and need less resources for transport.
Most almonds in the world come from California. Isn't that crazy?
The same goes for grain-fed beef. It's extremely wasteful, especially on an industrial scale. Smaller farms can keep animals in an almost closed resource circle. The farm animals are mostly fed surplus from field fruits we don't eat. And animal waste is composted into fertiliser.
I thought there have been studies and attempts happening for a while? Do you mean a kid has found a revolutionary idea or that some kid was the first one to ever think and attempt it? Can you elaborate?
A scaled down model has been tested and works very well. Now they are preparing for production of a full-size plastic collector.
This has only happened because the regular waste industry didn't oppose, as the idea was brought by a kid. By the time they realised this kid had plans worked out that were far better than theirs, funding had been found and it was too late to send out the lobbyists to kill the plan.
We have been recycling plastic in the US for quite some time? I'm not sure I agree the waste where I live ends up anywhere but our land fills and recycling plants? Giving everyone an opportunity to recycle is a good thing. Living near a landfill, I'm very concerned with the amount of waste that goes into landfills daily (although they do collect the methane and fuel the equipment and trucks) , what might end up elsewhere..... really needs to stop.
You have separated waste collection. Some of it still ends up in China (electronics, although China has just declared they'll stop accepting a lot of waste categories, incl. electronics), Africa (plastics and general waste) or South America (textile waste). Separated waste collection is a beginning, not yet a solution. We should start with producing a lot less...
I wish they'd get rid of those things here..... My wife always asks for paper bags and has a few of those reusable grocery bags. Thankfully all of the grocery stores where I live have plastic bag recycle bins. I just save up giant bags full of them and load up those bins every few months.... They are not allowed to be put in our recycle garbage. If the recycle garbage man sees them, they will leave yours .... Unfortunately this doesn't work with the totally automated trucks where the only garbage man is the driver. We have the hybrid system here where a ground man pulls the cans to the robotic arms after opening the can so it is a good way to inspect at least a little....
Some shops allow you to bring your own packaging. Re-useable, evidently. Like Denmark has machines for milk in supermarkets, butchers accept to fill your Tupperware boxes instead of packaging in plastic, etc.
Sometimes, it fails. We have separated collection of clear glass and colored glass, fi. After collection, it still goes onto one pile, as there isn't much demand for low quality glass. But pretty soon, glass will become expensive, as the sand is gone and these piles will be valuable again.
I think it's slightly unrealistic to generalize that the entire world isn't making efforts to take steps towards a cleaner environment. It's been happening for a long time at least here in the US . Maybe not enough concern among individuals, but, there are many ways people can try to do their part and I see a pretty strong effort by those who can afford to do more, ....
The US is still world leader when it comes to producing waste. Not that we are so much better in Belgium, but at least there's more effort. Like 75% of paper is recycled into paper and cardboard. 95% of batteries are collected separately for recycling. And all of that recycling is local. The burden is put on the industry that produces the product. Only not yet for plastics. The chemical industry has a very large and well paid army of
and those who can't do but small things are doing what they can...... We definitely need to make it easier for the people who can't afford things to participate more. This is where I'm interested to see what happens since I'm one of them.
The laws that resulted from the latest gigantic oil spill in the gulf have just been reverted by the current administration. That oil spill hasn't even been cleaned up. Most of the promised damage payments haven't yet been paid. And now the oil companies no longer have to pay.
There's certainly a lot of willingness with the American public, but unfortunately, you govt is owned by corporations. And that corruption gets exported. The UK, fi has replaced a number of old, dirty coal plants producing electricity with modern plants, burning wood pellets. Renewable energy, so they score good points. The sad thing is, they burn pellets produced in the USA and Canada, from forests that have been cut to make way for strip-mining or fracking. These forests will never be replanted, so not exactly "renewable"...
