YOU and todays 'Climate change'.

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Mike Allen, Oct 9, 2018.

  1. pete

    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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    Yeah, I hate to see countryside disappearing, but its going to happen. Its PROGRESS:wallbanging:

    Most local authorities state development will bring prosperity, developers often appear to bribe, (strong word), local government, but not always money changing hands, its often more subtle than that.
     
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    • Marley Farley

      Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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      Our village is now starting to lose it identity as the developers have moved in now.. I am watching the green fields disappear into housing.. I cannot blame the farmers though as the monies they are offered for the land beggars belief.. The same is happening in villages around us now too..
       
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      • pete

        pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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        It's happening all over pretty much, but they tell us it's good for prosperity.:frown:
        They dont say whos prosperity though.

        I've never been lucky enough to live in a village environment, but I was only about a quarter of a mile from the countryside, but I'm getting further and further away as urban sprawl engulfs all the surrounding villages.
         
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        • Sheal

          Sheal Total Gardener

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          But why does so much of our waste go to landfill when it can be re-cycled?

          I spent 24 years living on the Isle of Man and contrary to what many Brit's think - it's not the back of beyond and antiquated. Many things that we use here on the mainland were invented and produced on the island, adopted here on the quiet and often said to be invented here, that's just not so! I can give examples if needed.

          That aside the island decided on an incinerator many years back and in 2004 saw it's first waste for disposal. It's a modern building and from the outside we wouldn't know what was inside. It's set on a hill that was previously a landfill site.

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          Yes, there were protests at the time but there was also the issue of clearing the island's waste. The island is only 36 x 13 miles in size and with a population at the time of more than 70,000, something had to be done as landfill sites were almost at an end. The incinerator as said on a previous post doesn't belch out smoke and toxins to be seen and breathed for many miles around, but the ash is an issue. This has to go into landfill and is taken to a particular site. But surely this is better than the great amounts of rubbish that already fill the land.

          On the other hand why don't the amenity sites/tips here on the mainland allow full recycling and lighten the landfill load? Again every amenity site on the island allows the public to take away anything that they can make use of. Quite often items being taken there don't actually make it out of the boot of a car having been snapped up by somebody that has spotted them. Items of modern technology are one of the first things to disappear as many take them away, repair them or use the items for parts.

          Is it health and safety again? I think as children aren't allowed out of vehicles at amenity sites, at least adults can be left to make their own judgement on whether it's safe to remove things for recycling. After all we're allowed to dump them!
           
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          • pete

            pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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            Our local tip does recycle, but once dumped it becomes the property of the tip, often the blokes that work there:biggrin:, you try to take a few plants pots, they will chop your hands off, IT'S MINE, comes to mind.:biggrin:

            I made a fatal mistake when I last visited, I only had something small to throw in the recycle bin, cant remember what it was, it was late, 4.20pm and very near closing time:lunapic 130165696578242 5:.
            not many cars there for once, so I just drove in, pulled up, and got out to dump my rubbish.
            I was immediately met by this bloke saying I was doing it all wrong, I had to reverse in, me being an idiot, I'd just drove in and got out the car.

            I was reprimanded and told next time I must reverse in, but he was going to let me off on this occasion.:lunapic 130165696578242 5:
            What a W****r
             
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            • Sheal

              Sheal Total Gardener

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              That's not how it works on the island Pete. It's not the property of the tip and anyone can take anything from it. :)
               
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              • WeeTam

                WeeTam Total Gardener

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                Im lucky that my local country recycling centre is a friendly place. Asked for a compost bin that was lying at the side the guy said help yourself no dramas.
                The city one is another story. Looks right shady
                 
              • CanadianLori

                CanadianLori Total Gardener

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                We are now allowed to put plastic bags and such in our recycle bins. We have what we call "big garbage" pick ups every other week. We can put out sofas etc but no construction waste and we are limited to 3 items per pickup. We used to have one day a year but they figured it was smarter to do it in little bites plus the scavengers come around the night before looking for metal, copper etc. We have a place to take leftover chemicals such as paints and don't have to pay but there are some hillbillies who will dump it at construction dumpsters instead of taking 20 minutes to go whefe they properly dispose of them.

                I believe the scavengers have a lookout posted at the end of my street. I've put 75 lb sewing machine heads out there that disappeared in minutes. Of coirse that was after I'd stripped them of all the little machine screws and anything I can directly reuse. :)

                I agree that we should all do our best to be better custodians of our planet. And with that in mind, I'm recycling some fermented grapes at this very moment:heehee:
                 
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                  Last edited: Oct 11, 2018
                • Scudo

                  Scudo Gardener

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                  Climate change is what it is, I have had much warmer and prolonged summers and colder winters, its nothing new.
                  Governments knew diesel was bad for health and pollution many years back but done nothing, there was money to be made.
                  Wind turbines and solar panels may give a good end result but the pollution in manufacture and health issues with manufacturing are more polluting than the end result, the end result which is what is projected with Mainstream media.
                  Most green issue projects have a priority vested interest in profit with several MPs linked to their companies.
                  Personally I will ignore all the scare tactics of global warming until our governments cut down on their excessive use of energy via large expensive polluting vehicles and unnecessary flight travel.
                  As for recycling, that's a joke ! Some is dumped in other countries so all we do is shift the pollution abroad so our local councils can meet targets. I am not allowed to take anything that is reusable (for me) from a recycling tip as it is considered theft.
                   
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                  • KFF

                    KFF Total Gardener

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                    I don't do any recycling.
                    I live in a flat ( on an estate which houses around 650 people )where all our rubbish just goes into huge bins.
                    I can't take it to the recycling center as it would involve me taking it in a taxi and paying around £15 for the pleasure, which I've no intention of ever doing.
                     
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                    • shiney

                      shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                      Although I have no evidence of it, I can't believe that can be right. I have solar panels. They are not particularly bulky and I can't see the manufacture of them being all that polluting or difficult. They have been producing an average of 3,900 kWh per annum for the last five years and are going strong :fingers crossed:

                      I haven't the faintest how much that amount saves in CO2 emissions and other pollutants that would be caused by fossil fuel power stations. :dunno:
                       
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                      • Loki

                        Loki Total Gardener

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                        I recycle. My family have been taught to recycle. Sometimes they stuff up !
                        I check my recycling before I recycle it! :heehee:
                         
                      • Fat Controller

                        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                        Whilst not massively polluting as such, they do have an impact, and in fact that is an impact that is growing. The direct pollution is the manufacture of the metals, plastics and glass that make up the panels, the associated cabling to make and install them. However, it does not end there - as you know, any electricity generated at home is back-fed into the grid, and as that is unpredictable, further control equipment is required to make sure that the grid remains balanced - too much electricity on the grid is just as bad as not enough. Furthermore, the UK grid is set up on a 3-phase basis, but the power generated by domestic solar panels is single phase - when this is back-fed into the system, it causes an instability between phases (essentially, 'lumpy' electricity to you and me!) - if not checked and corrected, this causes vibration in the windings at sub-stations, which manifests itself as noise and heat, and this will eventually damage or destroy the sub-station; so more technology is being deployed to correct this (smooth the lumps out), but that technology requires computer controlled equipment to be made and put somewhere in the grid.

                        And this is the problem with many 'green' solutions - they may well look clean and green at the point of use, but when you strip it back and scrutinise it, those credentials soon start to fall away.

                        I think we all need to accept that many things like this is a case of not making an omelette without breaking eggs - - the difference lies in only using the right amount of eggs, and clearing up behind ourselves properly.
                         
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                        • shiney

                          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                          I certainly agree with you but, in theory, once the initial work is done in putting in controls then there's only a small amount of replacement needed if the maintenance is done properly. Once they have also developed better storage batteries for domestic use, and made them affordable (Tesla is working on them) there would be less pressure on the grid - but there would also need to be an inverter system to convert the battery power back for use in the houses.

                          Developing the right systems (using the right amount of eggs) is an essential part of it. It's OK for factories and large buildings to run these systems as they have economies of scale and I know a number of them locally that are already doing it.

                          I had a meeting the other day with some developers who are building the equivalent of a small town on the edge of a nearby town. They said they would like to install solar panels on the public buildings they will be building (schools, health centres etc.) but they're having problems with the authorities. They also would need to work out who has the responsibility for ownership and maintenance! :noidea:
                           
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                          • Fat Controller

                            Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                            Don't get me wrong, I am not saying we shouldn't be doing things like solar panels and wind farms etc, as we certainly should - all I am saying is that these also have an environmental impact, and it is that fact that is often conveniently not mentioned or considered. We need to transform our power grid, and domestic solar definitely can play a part in that - not least as it would add considerable additional capacity that we are currently lacking.

                            Storage is absolutely the key, but I'm afraid Tesla working on it is not good enough in my view - the man himself and his company have quite a singular view, and storage to them means massive battery farms (and those being comprised of rare earth metals such as lithium); we need to be looking at other ways of storing energy, particularly if it would allow us to run our wind farms all the time (how often do you see them standing still?) - things like removing and liquidising CO2 or even O2 from the air to use later as a pressurised gas to turn a turbine, or de-salinating water and creating hydrogen at the same time, that would give more clean water whilst also providing a fuel. There are lots of possibilities, all that is needed is the will and the investment to back them.

                            Whilst we are on this, I was watching a thing earlier on the British Brainwashing Corporation Breakfast television show, where they were talking about the longest ever flight that has taken place overnight between Singapore and New York; some 19hrs and 9525 miles, which is very impressive. BUT, that flight has used 120 metric tons of fuel, which is almost (back of cig packet calculations....) 40,000 gallons! Even if I think of my old Jag that did 20 mpg, at 7000 miles a year that I did at the time, that fuel would have allowed me to run for 113 years!

                            Yes, I accept that a plane carries a lot of people and therefore could be considered efficient in terms of miles per head (roughly 96 miles per gallon per head assuming 400 passengers), however applying that logic to that same old 20mpg Jag with five people aboard, that works out at 100 miles per gallon per head....!!)

                            So, why are motorists fairly well singled out as destroying the planet?
                             
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