I amn't disagreeing with anthropogenic global warming. Whether it's anthro' or not, I don't think even matters. In fact, I think Global Warming masks a more serious issue. I think we should be more concerned with our use of the planet's resources.. and that reducing our use of these resources will naturally reduce our carbon output anyway, while leaving us in a better position to actually handle the consequences of living in a warmer world.
I mean, what do most people do when their kettle packs in? They throw it out and buy a brand new one. So, that's a brand new kettle, with all the inherent manufacturing processing going into it, even if it's a new 'green' model. Mining of the materials. Shipping of materials to refiners. Shipping refined stuff to the factory. Rendering and recycling of old kettles into new materials. Shipping all that lot to the people making your new kettle. Making the actual kettle. Shipping it to your house. All for a 5% Co2 saving when you run the thing. And then it breaks a day outside warranty.
Or you fix it. 9/10 it's usually a gammy switch or thermostat, especially if you live in a hard water area. An easy fix if you know what you're doing. You'd be surprised how long you can keep things going. In that case, at best it's just the time it takes you to clean the gak off it, at worst a brand new part which you can pick up from an electronics shop and some quick soldering. And if that don't work, then you buy a brand new kettle because it's obviously very broke.
The thing is... it's all fine and good reducing Co2 emission and the like... but how much perfectly viable stuff is being thrown on the tip in the race to be the owner of the latest greenest thing. How many perfectly functional cars have been scrapped in favour of a brand-new Prius? I own a 26 year old motorcycle. It burns a little oil. It broke it's clutch and gearbox during the unusually cold winter last year, and the brakes and starter motor are shot. I plan to repair it when I get the money because just keeping the thing going, I feel is greener than buying a new one with all the associated manufacturing emissions and the like. That, and it's comfy as a sofa and is big enough to carry me.
It goes the same for cars. Renault Laguna needed a brand new CV-Joint. It cost more than the car was worth of replace it. People would've said I'dve been better off buying a brand new car, or a second hand one, scrapping the Renault. Instead, I repaired it. I think that approach is the greener one... Keep things going as long as possible, rather than replace them as soon as they 'break' . I think we'd save far more resources if people just hung onto things a little longer, and if we're saving resources, we're also saving Carbon, right? Modern consumer culture and planned obsolescence is doing far more harm.... but people don't seem to notice it because everything new they buy has the 'Greener better' label fitted. Then it breaks a year later, just in time to buy a brand new one. The landfills are full of things that anyone reasonably competent with tools can repair, but nobody does anymore.
There's also a few weird ones. Ever since we switched over to CFL bulbs.... I've notice that we're running the central heating a lot more in winter. So, we're burning more oil to heat our house. (We use oil so we don't get caught out by gas prices, and because it can be hoarded. Great until you accidentally stick a motorcycle's side-strand through the feedline to the boiler, and 500 litres of kerosene flood out onto the shed floor. I went around smelling of kerosene and avoiding smokers for a week after clearing that up).
But well, each to their own.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
I mean, what do most people do when their kettle packs in? They throw it out and buy a brand new one. So, that's a brand new kettle, with all the inherent manufacturing processing going into it, even if it's a new 'green' model. Mining of the materials. Shipping of materials to refiners. Shipping refined stuff to the factory. Rendering and recycling of old kettles into new materials. Shipping all that lot to the people making your new kettle. Making the actual kettle. Shipping it to your house. All for a 5% Co2 saving when you run the thing. And then it breaks a day outside warranty.
Or you fix it. 9/10 it's usually a gammy switch or thermostat, especially if you live in a hard water area. An easy fix if you know what you're doing. You'd be surprised how long you can keep things going. In that case, at best it's just the time it takes you to clean the gak off it, at worst a brand new part which you can pick up from an electronics shop and some quick soldering. And if that don't work, then you buy a brand new kettle because it's obviously very broke.
The thing is... it's all fine and good reducing Co2 emission and the like... but how much perfectly viable stuff is being thrown on the tip in the race to be the owner of the latest greenest thing. How many perfectly functional cars have been scrapped in favour of a brand-new Prius? I own a 26 year old motorcycle. It burns a little oil. It broke it's clutch and gearbox during the unusually cold winter last year, and the brakes and starter motor are shot. I plan to repair it when I get the money because just keeping the thing going, I feel is greener than buying a new one with all the associated manufacturing emissions and the like. That, and it's comfy as a sofa and is big enough to carry me.
It goes the same for cars. Renault Laguna needed a brand new CV-Joint. It cost more than the car was worth of replace it. People would've said I'dve been better off buying a brand new car, or a second hand one, scrapping the Renault. Instead, I repaired it. I think that approach is the greener one... Keep things going as long as possible, rather than replace them as soon as they 'break' . I think we'd save far more resources if people just hung onto things a little longer, and if we're saving resources, we're also saving Carbon, right? Modern consumer culture and planned obsolescence is doing far more harm.... but people don't seem to notice it because everything new they buy has the 'Greener better' label fitted. Then it breaks a year later, just in time to buy a brand new one. The landfills are full of things that anyone reasonably competent with tools can repair, but nobody does anymore.
There's also a few weird ones. Ever since we switched over to CFL bulbs.... I've notice that we're running the central heating a lot more in winter. So, we're burning more oil to heat our house. (We use oil so we don't get caught out by gas prices, and because it can be hoarded. Great until you accidentally stick a motorcycle's side-strand through the feedline to the boiler, and 500 litres of kerosene flood out onto the shed floor. I went around smelling of kerosene and avoiding smokers for a week after clearing that up).
But well, each to their own.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?