@Bee witched , your sewing machine wouldn't happen to be a Toyota 2800 would it? Mine is in the loft because I can't bear to just chuck it when it stopped working properly and I couldn't sort it out myself, but the cost of getting it fixed would have been a good chunk of the cost of a new one, at least. The only place locally said she couldn't do it herself and would have to send it away, and only then would I have got a price for actually fixing it.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Thanks for that link @pansyface, I've just contacted them to see if they can collect from my area as we've also got inherited tools that might be of use. Looks like they also accept sewing machines ... so my "dead" one might also be of use to them.
Bee x
Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
My solution is as I thought I implied and have said on other threads.
In centuries past, rates of change were minimal. There was no need of control. If I invented something in Asia or Timbuktu or Peru or .... it took centuries, millennia to go around the globe, if it spread at all. Populations were vastly smaller, so any detrimental impact was far less (where I live at the foot of the South Downs, they were cleared of forest millennia back. In retrospect was that a good idea? Was it a good idea then? What impact did it have then?). Government was largely collecting taxes for the ruler to go to war and support the local lord. That has changed. In years now, any change circumvents the globe AND the population has risen exponentially to what, 8 billion? So anything that is a personal choice, isn't that bright is it, when it comes to world changing impacts? How long ago was the WWW 'invented'. I wonder how many places in the world aren't now connectable? How many people have never seen a mobile phone or a fossil burning transport device?
I personally think that Governments around the world need to act. They need to work in unison - no point Britain doing X, if the EU does Y - and no point if Britian and the EU do W and China does Z , if those solutions conflict. The problems we face are global - the world has become a village. At a minimum, things we know to be wrong (ie non-recyclable stuff, or non-recyclable stuff that doesn't have a use life that exceeds its negative effect) needs to be legislated against. Stop it at source. No personal choice involved - it shouldn't be on the shelf.
The way forward needs to be planned. Not left to chance (if that's possible - ask Liz Truss - she planned her change and that still wrecked an economy). There is no point in jumping out of the fossil fuel fire, into another issue in 100 years time because no one thought of the impact of the solution when you have 9 billion people, or 12 billion. Try to foresee issues.
I know fairygirl has pointed out the issue - but I think battery cars (with large batteries) will be an issue. Think back to horses. Cars came along (both electric and fossil fuel) when horse poo mountains were a major, major issue for the larger cities - and the market went fossil fuel. BUT at that time, cars were few and no one could see their cost (because of production changes) meaning that they would become transport for the plebs. So not only did they spread, but they could be bought by the likes of me - where I possibly wouldn't have had a horse a century back. Because people could then travel they did - a double whammy. My grandad probably never went further than 20 miles from home. I've travelled all over the country. Do you see how the problems arise? No thought. No attempt at planning - just the market. I personally think hydrogen is the way - back to fairygirl - it isn't now OK - but what if they could and do get fresh water and hydrogen from sea water? Would the cost of the hydrogen extraction be justified by the fresh water production - as isn't fresh water going forward potentially an issue that also needs to be resolved? But would that also lead to an issue as yet unseen?
Burning coal wasn't an issue, much like cutting down the forest on the South Downs wasn't an issue, nor the burning of any fossil fuel. It is an issue when consumerism means mass production and people live in houses that are heated to 20+ degrees and there are billions of people, and industries burning those fuels.
You said '...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. ...'
What don't you buy then Bee witched. You seem to have some electronic device and a connection to the net. Do you buy clothes? Food? Presents? Wrap up those presents? Buy cards? Do you have a car? Do you have a house and heat it? Carpet it? Paint it? Put wallpaper up? Cut the grass? Wear jewellery? Perfume? Use deodorant? Skin lotions? Make-up? Get you hair done? Are all the items in your house and your wardrobe utilitarian? Do you only have enough seats for people to sit on daily? What about cutlery and crockery? What magazines and TV programs? Radio as well? Compost for your garden? Plants bought from a nursery? Use a train or bus? What is your plant based diet? All stuff you can grow yourself or locally or does it depend on import or long distance travel? How is it produced? https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impact-milks is interesting - and this always seems to be the way, the comparison table works on volume - ie 1 litre of x and 1 litre of y use...but ignores what the drink is for (it isn't (just) for volume, but also what it provides), so the lower sections are worth reading. Makes you wonder which is 'better' if a holistic view is taken. The west is consumerism.
@Bee witched , your sewing machine wouldn't happen to be a Toyota 2800 would it? Mine is in the loft because I can't bear to just chuck it when it stopped working properly and I couldn't sort it out myself, but the cost of getting it fixed would have been a good chunk of the cost of a new one, at least. The only place locally said she couldn't do it herself and would have to send it away, and only then would I have got a price for actually fixing it.
I have a dodgy sewing machine too and a dead floor fan. The machine needs and overhaul and the fan motor needs fiddling with. Both are probably five min jobs but the work would cost much more than they cost to buy. They have been in my living room for months as I can't bear to take them to the dump.
I'm not going to respond to everything you've written. I just used the availability of plant milk to illustrate the point I was making. I'm not pushing a plant-based diet (although it suits me).
I'm suggesting that we should all do what we can to try and make a difference to the problem of global warming. Make responsible choices when we do buy stuff, and only buy stuff we need to.
If we wait for governments / businesses / suppliers etc to act in unison, then the planet may well be too far gone.
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
I've just contacted them to see if they can collect from my area as we've also got inherited tools that might be of use.
Looks like they also accept sewing machines ... so my "dead" one might also be of use to them.
Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
🤬
I'm not going to respond to everything you've written.
I just used the availability of plant milk to illustrate the point I was making.
I'm not pushing a plant-based diet (although it suits me).
I'm suggesting that we should all do what we can to try and make a difference to the problem of global warming. Make responsible choices when we do buy stuff, and only buy stuff we need to.
If we wait for governments / businesses / suppliers etc to act in unison, then the planet may well be too far gone.
Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime