Not As Environmentally Friendly As Promised

[MorningAngel]

Light bulbs really pee me off. Here in the UK they made us go over to so cold long life light bulbs which were supposed to be better for the planet. They aren't long life they don't last any longer than the old bulbs in my experience and they cost five times as much. Also the stuff in them is awful to get rid of. I can't help but think we've been Edison screwed by the bulb manufacturers. Oh yes and as light bulbs they are pants as they take ages to light up.

And don't get me started on cars that have their lights permanently on even in bright daylight. Pound shops sell garden lights that come on when it's dark. Are you seriously telling me they can't do that with thousands of pounds of car?

Sorry if any of this is spelt wrong or doesn't make sense, I had to get it off my chest before work.

 

[David Plankton]

And don't get me started on cars that have their lights permanently on even in bright daylight. Pound shops sell garden lights that come on when it's dark. Are you seriously telling me they can't do that with thousands of pounds of car?

Good point. Might be a safety issue though - solar power probably varies quite a lot day to day so sometimes might not be enough to power car lights for long.
I have a lamp in my living room which gives off next to no light. Must sort that out.

 

[Min Bannister]

Yes, they contain mercury of course which is a horrible poison unless it is in your lightbulbs or your teeth wherein it is nothing to worry our little heads about. There are quite a lot of things like that. One of the biggies recently is a weedkiller called Roundup. When I was at uni it was touted as the perfect culmination of all our wonderous genetic knowledge as it specifically targeted a pathway in plants which does not exist in insects or animals. Therefore you could kill weeds with impunity as it harmed only plants. Guess what? Causes cancer.

 

[Coal]

Light bulbs really pee me off. Here in the UK they made us go over to so cold long life light bulbs which were supposed to be better for the planet. They aren't long life they don't last any longer than the old bulbs in my experience and they cost five times as much. Also the stuff in them is awful to get rid of. I can't help but think we've been Edison screwed by the bulb manufacturers. Oh yes and as light bulbs they are pants as they take ages to light up.

Plus, filament bulbs' heat will result in a drop in heating expenditure. It's all energy. In cold climes, low energy bulbs are probably a waste of resources.

And don't get me started on cars that have their lights permanently on even in bright daylight. Pound shops sell garden lights that come on when it's dark. Are you seriously telling me they can't do that with thousands of pounds of car?

I keep mine on deliberately. There's no doubt they make it harder to not see my car and then pull out in front of me. It costs me a headlamp bulb a year, but I'll take that.

 

[MorningAngel]

Good point. Might be a safety issue though - solar power probably varies quite a lot day to day so sometimes might not be enough to power car lights for long.
I have a lamp in my living room which gives off next to no light. Must sort that out.

I meant detecting how much light there is to come on rather than just powered by sunlight. Sorry as I said it was rather rushed.

 

[MorningAngel]

Plus, filament bulbs' heat will result in a drop in heating expenditure. It's all energy. In cold climes, low energy bulbs are probably a waste of resources.



I keep mine on deliberately. There's no doubt they make it harder to not see my car and then pull out in front of me. It costs me a headlamp bulb a year, but I'll take that.

I bet they still come out in front of you though. Mum has a red car and they still never notice her.

 

[Mythopoeika]

There are quite a lot of things like that. One of the biggies recently is a weedkiller called Roundup. When I was at uni it was touted as the perfect culmination of all our wonderous genetic knowledge as it specifically targeted a pathway in plants which does not exist in insects or animals. Therefore you could kill weeds with impunity as it harmed only plants. Guess what? Causes cancer.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-using-glyphosate-weedkiller-says-eu-watchdog

 

[Min Bannister]

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-using-glyphosate-weedkiller-says-eu-watchdog

A shame about the conflicts of interest outlined by Greenpeace. You can't really trust them.

 

[Ulalume]

What kind of lightbulbs are you using, @MorningAngel? Maybe the brand you get is a dud. Our long-life bulbs have been going for years now, so I've got no complaints.

 

[MorningAngel]

What kind of lightbulbs are you using, @MorningAngel? Maybe the brand you get is a dud. Our long-life bulbs have been going for years now, so I've got no complaints.

Various ones.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I recommend LED bulbs. Instant-on, bright, last forever, give off no heat, use little electricity.
Only downside? Expensive.

 

[Coal]

I recommend LED bulbs. Instant-on, bright, last forever, give off no heat, use little electricity.
Only downside? Expensive.

They do produce less heat for the same light as say filament bulbs'.

Getting the heat out of the diode itself so that it will run bright is what's held up the development. The second biggest problem is they are very sensitive to voltage transients, which can destroy the LED. I only hope they deal with this, as I have sockets in my house in which low energy bulbs barely last six months, which I suspect are transients from the washing machine motor.

The volume production of them will bring the price down though.

 

[Min Bannister]

Sorry if any of this is spelt wrong or doesn't make sense, I had to get it off my chest before work.

Are you able to edit the word in the title to "environmentally" please? I am only asking in order to be able to find it with the search function in future.

 

[MorningAngel]

Are you able to edit the word in the title to "environmentally" please? I am only asking in order to be able to find it with the search function in future.

You're in luck I found the edit button I've never managed to find before.

Here's something else. Double glazing. 'Get double glazing it lasts for years and you'll save some of the planet by keeping the heat in.'

Couple of years down the line. 'oh you've only got double glazing, you really should have triple glazing...' and there goes all the planet saving as they pump out more fumes making new windows you probably don't really need and on it goes.

 

[Min Bannister]

You're in luck I found the edit button I've never managed to find before.

Well done and thank you. I just know I will keep finding examples to add for a looong time to come!

Here's something else. Double glazing. 'Get double glazing it lasts for years and you'll save some of the planet by keeping the heat in.'

Couple of years down the line. 'oh you've only got double glazing, you really should have triple glazing...' and there goes all the planet saving as they pump out more fumes making new windows you probably don't really need and on it goes.

Our windows are still going strong but this whole "replace your perfectly good stuff with " green" stuff" happens a lot and is called green washing. I came across some environmentally friendly sports kit in a magazine recently and the article said "this is what you should be wearing as it is dead green it is." Not "when you need to replace something, consider these things made out of recycled plastic bottles". It is almost certainly better to buy a second hand garment made out of dead Amazonian tree frogs than it is a new one made from reused disposable nappies because of the manufacturing process. That is why the mantra goes Reduce Reuse Recycle. Recycle is the last resort.

 

[Min Bannister]

Well done and thank you. I just know I will keep finding examples to add for a looong time to come!


Our windows are still going strong but this whole "replace your perfectly good stuff with " green" stuff" happens a lot and is called green washing. I came across some environmentally friendly sports kit in a magazine recently and the article said "this is what you should be wearing as it is dead green it is." Not "when you need to replace something, consider these things made out of recycled plastic bottles". Also, it is almost certainly better to buy a second hand garment made out of dead Amazonian tree frogs than it is a new one made from reused disposable nappies because of the manufacturing process. That is why the mantra goes Reduce Reuse Recycle. Recycle is the last resort.

 

[Coal]

That is why the mantra goes Reduce Reuse Recycle. Recycle is the last resort.

It's done with cars as well. But in general nothing is quite so environmentally friendly as driving a car until it really can't be relied on or is uneconomic to do so. That however, doesn't sell new cars.

I've been castigated for our plastic Christmas tree in the same way. However, we've had it twenty-one years. It makes no sense at all to chuck it out and get real ones or something 'more environmentally friendly' now.

The 'trouble with' "reduce, reuse" is no-one can see you being virtuous...

 

[Mythopoeika]

The 'trouble with' "reduce, reuse" is no-one can see you being virtuous...

Unless you plaster things with signs saying 'made from recycled materials' or whatever.

 

[Min Bannister]

It's done with cars as well. But in general nothing is quite so environmentally friendly as driving a car until it really can't be relied on or is uneconomic to do so. That however, doesn't sell new cars.

I've been castigated for our plastic Christmas tree in the same way. However, we've had it twenty-one years. It makes no sense at all to chuck it out and get real ones or something 'more environmentally friendly' now.

The 'trouble with' "reduce, reuse" is no-one can see you being virtuous...

So true!

Yes, the plastic Christmas trees are looked down upon and I forget the exact figure but it is something like 6 or 7 years you would have to use it to make it more environmentally friendly than a real tree but who on earth replaces a plastic tree so frequently as that?

 

[Coal]

but who on earth replaces a plastic tree so frequently as that?

My parents bought a plastic tree in 1967 while we were in Singapore and it was thrown away when my father died in 2008...

 

[RyoHazuki]

*starts writing a thousand-word rant about 'eco-friendly' cars*

*sits on hands*

On the subject of bulbs, I'd have to agree - apart from anything else, filament bulbs are made from metal and glass, whereas fancy eco jobbies seem to comprise more (inseparable) plastic than anything else. I'm also against DRLs on cars - plenty of people seem to forget that the "D" stands for "daylight" and don't bother with main headlights unless it's pitch black.

 

[Mythopoeika]

*starts writing a thousand-word rant about 'eco-friendly' cars*

Don't exist, do they?

 

[Coal]

Don't exist, do they?

Blaming cars is an easy out - in the UK at least, we don't have eco-friendly infrastructure and until that's in place, cars are not optional for the overwhelming majority.

Plus, our leaders, the great and good, drive about in big expensive cars. One of the things about leadership is, whether you mean too or not, you lead by example.

 

[RyoHazuki]

There is indeed no such thing as an eco-friendly car, but the dogma attached to modern motoring trends causes my bile to rise rapidly. I'm not saying no-one should buy a new car - there are advantages to (some of) them, and if you're going to buy new then by all means get a 'green' model. But to suggest that scrapping a reliable banger and replacing it with a hybrid is environmentally responsible, is utter hogwash. Scrappage schemes were clever marketing attempts to save car companies from bankruptcy, nothing more.

 

[Cynical Apathist]

Unless you plaster things with signs saying 'made from recycled materials' or whatever.

100% of my posts are made from recycled electrons, so I do my share.

 

[RyoHazuki]

I'm 100% recycled stardust (allegedly), does that count?

 

[Vardoger]

I'm 100% recycled stardust (allegedly), does that count?

Even oil is recycled stardust.

 

[Cynical Apathist]

Even oil is recycled stardust.

Oil is pumped out of the ground. So when I dump my used crankcase oil on the dirt road behind my house as a dust abatement I am putting it back where it came from. That is environmentally responsible disposal.

 

[GNC]

Well, that's terrible. You should fire it into the sun.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Oil is pumped out of the ground. So when I dump my used crankcase oil on the dirt road behind my house as a dust abatement I am putting it back where it came from. That is environmentally responsible disposal.

Excellent argument!
I'm off out to poo in the street.