But @steveTu the market will care if we all stop buying all this stuff.
In the supermarket yesterday a whole aisle comprised Halloween tat. Stuff that families don't need and can't afford, and that will end up in landfill in a few weeks time.
Crazy just plain crazy. Meantime in Pakistan some of the poorest on the planet, who are not responsible for climate warming, are suffering from devastating floods. They can do nothing to change their situation. But we all can.
And to those of you who are getting fed up with all the preaching. I'm sorry, but it's necessary.
I'll shut up now. Bee x
Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
In the supermarket yesterday a whole aisle comprised Halloween tat. Stuff that families don't need and can't afford, and that will end up in landfill in a few weeks time.
Waste and pollution. I took these screenshots this morning. If nothing else, it looks as if it would pay to look closely at this and similar websites when looking for an area to live in. These weren’t the only two planes in the holding circle at the time.
Not convinced. If the market then cares, then given that the market works on multiple levels - ie I buy from the SM and the SM buy from whoiesalers who buy from... Isn't it vastly better that the SM doesn't buy, say, plastic trays that aren't recyclable and cut down on millions of trays rather than me stopping buying a handful (as by that stage the trays have already been made and are still an issue)? Ditto up the chain. The SMs are as aware as I am - so shouldn't they 'care'..shouldn't the wholesalers...? Shouldn't they be forced to care?
Should each person who moves into a new build, convert to solar and heat pumps or should it be the builder who does that at source?
You say tat for halloween - but isn't it tat always? Birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's, Mother's Day... it's the market. It's consumerism. It's all about having 'stuff' and showing you care by giving 'stuff'. Why a new mobile every year? Why a new shaver? Why a new washing machine every 5 years? It's because of growth - to grow you sell. To sell you need the old to be replaced. So things aren't made to last. And even worse now - software determines a things lifespan as well. I have a TV where the software is no longer supported, ditto a smart speaker. The items are sound (!), but become obsolete. Is that an individual choice or should suppliers be forced into an enforced lifespan for products? How can an individual know obsolescence has been built in to some products?
ALL that consumerism is energy. Manufacturing, transport, retailing. We have all been sold that lifestyle. And to change that now causes a fundamental issue for the system doesn't it?
Supermarket packaging has been criticised for at least as long as I've been shopping. I remember refusing to buy products with excess packaging back in the 1990s and as far as I can tell very little has changed and in some cases it has become worse. Oil companies are still investing billions in producing virgin plastics and they have a slightly bigger say in how the market works than my shopping habits do.
Solar panels on new builds are one thing but the problem is in every sector at every scale. How many millions of cups of coffee do you think are made every day with boiling water? The water should be 80 Celcius at most but what proportion of new kettles are sold with the option to vary the temperature and how many people even know what temp to use? The Currys website lists 348 kettles but only 30 have temperature control. Surely something as simple as that should be a legal requirement by now?
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I once worked in a large office where the only way to make a hot drink was to use the fancy machine. The temperature of the hot water could be changed but only up to (I think) 95°C which is OK for coffee but makes vile tea. When I asked I was told it was because of "health and safety" and no we couldn't have a kettle - as if 95 doesn't do just about as much damage as actual boiling water if you spill it on yourself. I started taking tea in a flask, and only making herbal teas in the office. They're not as bad with not-quite-hot-enough water.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
So @steveTu, What is your solution then? It's too easy to say that because plastic trays are already made you might as well buy them.
I have followed a plant-based diet for many years. Until relatively recently I would only be able to find plant milk in specialist shops. Now it's available in supermarkets, not because they've been made to care, but because there is a demand for it. They will respond to our changing behaviour, so it's down to us.
You might have been "sold a consumerism lifestyle" but not all of us have, so you could make a decision to wean yourself off it.
I do agree with you about built in obsolescence ... I'm more than annoyed that I can't get the parts to fix my sewing machine.
Didn't know that about kettles @wild edges ... thanks for the heads up.
Bee x
Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
Posts
In the supermarket yesterday a whole aisle comprised Halloween tat.
Stuff that families don't need and can't afford, and that will end up in landfill in a few weeks time.
Crazy just plain crazy. Meantime in Pakistan some of the poorest on the planet, who are not responsible for climate warming, are suffering from devastating floods.
They can do nothing to change their situation.
But we all can.
And to those of you who are getting fed up with all the preaching. I'm sorry, but it's necessary.
I'll shut up now.
Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
It's painful to see it all.
What is your solution then?
It's too easy to say that because plastic trays are already made you might as well buy them.
I have followed a plant-based diet for many years. Until relatively recently I would only be able to find plant milk in specialist shops. Now it's available in supermarkets, not because they've been made to care, but because there is a demand for it. They will respond to our changing behaviour, so it's down to us.
You might have been "sold a consumerism lifestyle" but not all of us have, so you could make a decision to wean yourself off it.
I do agree with you about built in obsolescence ... I'm more than annoyed that I can't get the parts to fix my sewing machine.
Didn't know that about kettles @wild edges ... thanks for the heads up.
Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime