[LaRemnant]

There is a new documentary out like, today I think called 'Home'.

Check it out on Youtube:

YouTube - HOME (English with subtitles)

Absolutely beautiful... and sickening at the same time...

[Celticwarrior]

Originally Posted by LaRemnant

Check this video out concerning pollution for our worlds oceans. It is sad...

YouTube - Plastic Bottles & Ocean Pollution

Someone at work laughed at me the other day because I always have my camelbak on me, especially at the gym. I explained the simple yet brilliant rational behind the logic (in all kinds of ways), and how it is each of our responsibility to take care of our environment, and even though they now think I am a tree hugger (with those occasional poking fun jokes), I know I got my message through to two people that day. One of them has since bought a reusable water/soda bottle.

PS

The embedding feature doesn't seem to work these past few weeks...

Up here in Michigan we have a 10 cent per bottle/can refund rate on anything except water or juice bottles (why those aren't covered is beyond me), and you will see folks down on their luck picking up both bottles and cans along the roads or in trash cans in gas stations as a suppliment to their income (sometimes, sadly, as their ONLY income). However, you still find all those water and juice bottles littering the countryside. Why? No incentive to turn them in or even throw them away properly. Sad. I think if every state instituted a blanket refund policy for all bottles and cans, regardless of their original contents, we would get rid of tons of this waste from our woods, landscapes and oceans. It is something that would be very easy to impliment and would have almost immediate results on the litter situations. The states that DO have it have seen it working for decades. We just need to expand it to include the now-popular water and juice bottles as well.

[crazydave]

we are having an oceans day where they are showing a doco at some cinemas for awareness.

one of the current theories is that the fish stocks are nearing an inability to sustain themselves - tuna being an example.

as for trash I think we need a worldwide policy of sorting and burying by type. here they will only collect and recycle 2 types of plactic because noone is dealing with any other flavours. in europe its 8 in a lot of countries but germany sets the standard by making the supermarkets responsible for any waste left by the customer so they have to have large bins by the checkout where customers can leave unwanted packing behind. I reckon if they buried stuff by type then sooner or later they will find a way of refractionalising it back into usefull plastics. some things like the synthetic wood substitute made from bottles is good step. they should use more alternatives like cardboard and there are degradable plastics but if you are taking food out of the chain to make biofuel and corn starch sandwich wrap then thats not a great move either.

I've seen the havoc plactic bags is causing in india with bags streamer in all the trees and hedges - they could soon impliment a recycling policy whereby they can collect it and make insulated mats or building sheets out of it. I've seen bags used as pillow and duvet stuffing quite effectively.

I know that over there you have the can tax and it can be a lucrative job for the homeless claiming back the 5c they should do something similar for bottles. I remember when we used to take soda bottles back to the shop to get money back instead of throwing them onto the roads to see if they can wreck someones tyres. if people got cash back for all the tin cans, soda bottles and trays then they might start paying attention.

[cowgirlup]

This is what happens in a consumer environment. For too long all companies cared about was that someone bought a product and it was profitable. Not the residual effects and the consumers wanted convenience. No company wants to make a (too) well built product because once the market is saturated they cease to make money. It's become a throw away society and even tho many are trying to make a dent in the waste with recycling, reusable bags and water bottles there is a huge backlog. Things have been dumped in the sea and left in space too. Out of sight and out of mind. Not sure if it can ever be reversed.

[stairman]

One of my cavediving instructors did a documentary on PBS called waters jouney. She has actually done 4 of them. They traveled for miles in the florida aquafer only to surface in a sink hole in the woods where roofing tar, batteries, antifreeze jugs , tires and much more was dumped. The trash they were getting rid of was actually being introduced in their drinking water. Weve come a long way though. Dumping raw sewage in our waterways was excepted in the past decades, and garbage pits were the norm for many farmers ect. We are drawing water from the aquafer faster than it can be replenished, fresh drinkable water to flush toilets and water our lawns. The large farms with 10 inch wells operating their water cannon systems are wasting to much pure water and should be forced to use reclaimed water or some other means. The nitrates in the fertilizers are reaching the waterways and causing algae blooms clogging up the streams and killing fish by the millions in some cases. The oils from our vehicles and heavy metals from our brakes are washing into the waterways in staggering proportions. Ever stop at a red light and look down at all the cigarette butts that idiots flick out on the ground? Theres got to be a better way. We are destoying our planet slowly but surely. Its hard to believe that god made man in his own image.

[crazydave]

well god did start by blowing the shit out of everything

[Dick]

Originally Posted by Mac

Attached is a pic from India on a trip from a few years back...this is one of the cleaner street corners I saw...

its a shame...

That's probably because the cow probably ate all of the cardboard and newspapers already.
I watched a show where they showed the cows of India eating paper products and being able to get food value from it.

[Roadracer]

Originally Posted by stairman

Modern conveinences are surely helping the planet to destroy itself. Look what the repeating rifle did to the buffalo.

I agree. If we think about it refrigeration also allows us to take more than we need. Most of our modern "conviences" are greed driven.

There is NO WAY mankind will ever turn this one around. Even if EVERYONE recycles everything we are still destoying our home with what we drive & other current means of living. As much as the trash bothers me I drove a car to work (natural resourses & pollution) & am using a computer (dangourous in a land fill & one computer chip requires many hundreds of gallons of water to make) in a well lit building (massive power plants & more natural resourses) using massive amounts of power to sustain it.


We can not force obedience on others & the mass majority doesn't care. Homeland defence requires this technology as well. Try telling people they can not have modern conveniences anymore & people will rebel & the economy will collapse world-wide.

[LaRemnant]

Originally Posted by Roadracer

I agree. If we think about it refrigeration also allows us to take more than we need. Most of our modern "conviences" are greed driven.

There is NO WAY mankind will ever turn this one around. Even if EVERYONE recycles everything we are still destoying our home with what we drive & other current means of living. As much as the trash bothers me I drove a car to work (natural resourses & pollution) & am using a computer (dangourous in a land fill & one computer chip requires many hundreds of gallons of water to make) in a well lit building (massive power plants & more natural resourses) using massive amounts of power to sustain it.


We can not force obedience on others & the mass majority doesn't care. Homeland defence requires this technology as well. Try telling people they can not have modern conveniences anymore & people will rebel & the economy will collapse world-wide.

Regardless of the fact we live in buildings that use grid power from fossil fuels, drive cars and what have you, the important thing is that you're here, and sharing what you know and learning from others how to perhaps get away from that, even temporarily. It is still the way to go. It makes sense. It is kind of like culture jamming. Some people think it is backwards or doesn't make sense why someone would want to engage in culture jamming against their own corporation when they probably make a lot of money, and doing so goes against that, instigating everyone to lose their job if the company ever went out of business but basically, that is JUST want they want to happen. They will find another "job" or way to get by..

Also, we can still have modern conveniences off grid... ever googled Earth Ships?

[vthompson]

We had some friends of our's over last night and they were telling us about their vacation down at Myrtle Beach, SC. last week, and they were telling us how trashy the beaches were. They go down every year and they said that they had never seen anything like it before.
I often sit and ponder how beautiful that this country must have been before the white man come along and messed things up. With his trash and pollution and no respect nor regard for the environment. We should really be proud of ourselves.