AS and the Environment...

[chris667]

10 minutes ago, bezzabsa said:

Pushbikes.......why do I see scrapmen with virtually new pushbikes thrown on the back? are they truly this throwaway??

Yet at the same time due to covid folk were selling bikes at £50-£500, yet scrapmen were still carting round piles of bikes!!

Lots of bikes are not really designed to be used.

Reasonable quality inexpensive freewheel axles aren't available anymore. There are very fancy ones in cold-drawn steel for bike nerds, but the ones you can buy in normal bike shops are made of cheese these days.

A real travesty.

[R1152]

2 hours ago, mintwth said:

The old style dualit toasters are fairly modular, there's not much in them that can't be replaced/fixed if/when it breaks. 

The older style/more expensive Dualit toasters - the ones that have been around since the 1940s - still have spares available. 

The cheaper Dualits do not. 

I found myself following a car down the A1 yesterday and wondering why the exhaust was so white. 

It was a Toyota Mirai. Now, that's the way to go - hydrogen fuel cells, not EVs. The only problem is the cost (and energy of producing the hydrogen in the first place. 

[R1152]

6 hours ago, ETCHY said:

One of the big things we need to do to help the environment is fix things. Instead of buying shiny new shit imported from god knows where, fix what you have. That way stuff also doesn't go into landfill or have to be recycled (there's an environmental impact with recycling too)

Trouble is a lot of new stuff ain't made to be fixed easily and also a lot of folk (despite often being really vocal about the "environment"), still want shiny new shit or want you to continue to buy shiny new shit..

I've been doing this for years. Only recently, because I couldn't be arsed did I replace, rather than repair, my 30 year old telly. I still have it and once I have the motivation again, I will do my best to fix it. 

Trouble is, magazines and wankpapers like the Daily Mail like to sell you "lifestyle". 

Which invariably involves rampant consumerism - and borrowing money is frankly what props the UK economy up. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

7 minutes ago, R1152 said:

The older style/more expensive Dualit toasters - the ones that have been around since the 1940s - still have spares available. 

The cheaper Dualits do not. 

I found myself following a car down the A1 yesterday and wondering why the exhaust was so white. 

It was a Toyota Mirai. Now, that's the way to go - hydrogen fuel cells, not EVs. The only problem is the cost (and energy of producing the hydrogen in the first place. 

We’ve had our 6 slice Dualit for almost 20 years and I’ve only ever replaced 2 sections of element and the bugger is used 2 or 3 times everyday . Although when we bought it, I think it cost more than the car it was driven home in.

Remember that? Driving to a shop and buying shit.

[R1152]

Just now, NorfolkNWeigh said:

We’ve had our 6 slice Dualit for almost 20 years and I’ve only ever replaced 2 sections of element and the bugger is used 2 or 3 times everyday . Although when we bought it, I think it cost more than the car it was driven home in.

Remember that? Driving to a shop and buying shit.

Yes, I remember it well. I was going to do precisely that (actually, catch a bus) to buy a new fridge-freezer... but then the local John Lewis closed down. No matter, I'll go to Curry's instead!

[Longbridge Apologist]

On 12/2/2019 at 1:48 PM, HMC said:

Blue Peter green badge FTW (circa 1993)

Yes!!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, R1152 said:

.... I found myself following a car down the A1 yesterday and wondering why the exhaust was so white. 

It was a Toyota Mirai. Now, that's the way to go - hydrogen fuel cells, not EVs. The only problem is the cost (and energy of producing the hydrogen in the first place. 

When the Mirai first came over here, a hydrogen filling station was opened up at the local Sainsbury's. I never saw any car ever use it. Earlier this year it was demolished, as was Sainsbury's conventional filling station. 

[beko1987]

I always feel smug when asked about my environmental impact! I must have saves tons of plastic from the ground over the last decade of repairing dysons and other vacs. But mainly dysons... Sharks are still e-waste as you can't get parts, although I have worked a good way of sticking a £25 motor in one. Problem is that particular bodge involves buying £25 worth of shit Chinese vacuum cleaner and throwing 95% of it away, even the flex was not worth keeping

[ETCHY]

1 hour ago, beko1987 said:

I always feel smug when asked about my environmental impact! I must have saves tons of plastic from the ground over the last decade of repairing dysons and other vacs. But mainly dysons... Sharks are still e-waste as you can't get parts, although I have worked a good way of sticking a £25 motor in one. Problem is that particular bodge involves buying £25 worth of shit Chinese vacuum cleaner and throwing 95% of it away, even the flex was not worth keeping

I was in the garage earlier mucking about cleaning an old vice & using my old Numatic Henry that lives in there, the base of it is off a different one but the top/motor is one of the originals badged Numatic & has no cable rewind reel, you just bundle the cable up & hang it off a hook on the back. It must be from the 1980's but the bugger still works !

 

 

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, bezzabsa said:

Pushbikes.......why do I see scrapmen with virtually new pushbikes thrown on the back? are they truly this throwaway??

Yet at the same time due to covid folk were selling bikes at £50-£500, yet scrapmen were still carting round piles of bikes!!

I used to make a bit of beer money rescuing unwanted bikes and spending a bit of time getting them cleaned up and working properly before flogging them on Gumtree.

People just can't be arsed to fix them, or don't know how so just chuck them out

[beko1987]

15 minutes ago, ETCHY said:

I was in the garage earlier mucking about cleaning an old vice & using my old Numatic Henry that lives in there, the base of it is off a different one but the top/motor is one of the originals badged Numatic & has no cable rewind reel, you just bundle the cable up & hang it off a hook on the back. It must be from the 1980's but the bugger still works !

 

 

Sounds like a nice nv200! Yup, keep the carbon brushes changed and it'll go on forever! Wheras the 620w motors they use now like to blow a coil wire off one of the terminals, usually with a nice big flash and bang. Same with the 620w motors in miele vacuums actually 🤔 My beautiful white Miele C3 silence was free because of that. Used it for a month or so, stuck it in the loft for 6 months and pretended I wanted to add it to the collection then flogged it for £70 on facebook... 

Sometimes their repairable but sometimes their too far melted. 

[BorniteIdentity]

36 minutes ago, ETCHY said:

I was in the garage earlier mucking about cleaning an old vice & using my old Numatic Henry that lives in there, the base of it is off a different one but the top/motor is one of the originals badged Numatic & has no cable rewind reel, you just bundle the cable up & hang it off a hook on the back. It must be from the 1980's but the bugger still works !

 

 

On the older Vacs you can date them from the first two digits of the serial number (on the top). 

Mine starts 93 and - yep - it’s a 1993. 

[beko1987]

Yup, first 2 are the year, 2nd 2 the week. 

But only from the early 90s. 80s and earlier you've got to have the motor out as its on the motor label. A rare thing is a nice working original DAF motor. I've got one in my nv200 (not its original motor but it's an age appropriate daf) and it's a bit ticky on wind down, but I barely use it so meh... 

[R1152]

2 hours ago, ETCHY said:

I was in the garage earlier mucking about cleaning an old vice & using my old Numatic Henry that lives in there, the base of it is off a different one but the top/motor is one of the originals badged Numatic & has no cable rewind reel, you just bundle the cable up & hang it off a hook on the back. It must be from the 1980's but the bugger still works !

 

 

You've reminded me - there's a Henry in the WEEE skip at work. That needs extracting, one can never have too many Henries.

[R1152]

2 hours ago, beko1987 said:

Sounds like a nice nv200! Yup, keep the carbon brushes changed and it'll go on forever! Wheras the 620w motors they use now like to blow a coil wire off one of the terminals, usually with a nice big flash and bang. Same with the 620w motors in miele vacuums actually 🤔 My beautiful white Miele C3 silence was free because of that. Used it for a month or so, stuck it in the loft for 6 months and pretended I wanted to add it to the collection then flogged it for £70 on facebook... 

Sometimes their repairable but sometimes their too far melted. 

You've reminded me: I need to get some more meths so I can clean off the residue from a RIFA mains filter cap that disgorged itself in my mother-in-law's sewing machine.

[Split_Pin]

The worst thing about being environmentally friendly is wearing it like a badge but I'll stick one on for 5 minutes .

I recycle as much of our waste as possible, so does everyone else in my street. Waste oil goes to the vats  at the local tip.

I'm not going to feel guilty about having nice things. I work hard and deserve it. Anything we don't need or want any more is sold on Marketplace for a nominal sum or given away. Fuck car boot sales now, the tables are a rip off and you get hardly any space.

I keep my scrap metal and hit up the same guy on messenger every  6 months or so and it gives him a few quid at the bridge.

I have brought several old cars back from the brink and sold them in for further use.

I try not to eat off season produce as its laden with air miles.

I fix my cars or have them fixed.

I'm nice to people I don't know.

I hope that will keep things ticking along in good enough nick for my son's generation.

 

[BorniteIdentity]

9 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

The worst thing about being environmentally friendly is wearing it like a badge but I'll stick one on for 5 minutes .

I'm not going to feel guilty about having nice things. I work hard and deserve it.

Nail head interface.  It's like veganism; one of the biggest turn offs is the people.  I honestly think if it was less of a cult and more of a "yeah, don't really eat that any more and - if you want - I'll tell you why" (and if you don't I won't) more people would likely listen.

I hope I didn't come across as lecturing and sanctimonious - you should buy what you want.  Ultimately, whilst places like China are pumping out shit as they currently are, people like me won't even scratch the surface.  

But I *think* it's possible to have "nice things" via different approaches.  I dunno.  Kids might disagree when, come Christmas, they're unwrapping the remote control for the TV and an old 7a drumstick I found in my Dad's loft.

[sierraman]

9 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

The worst thing about being environmentally friendly is wearing it like a badge but I'll stick one on for 5 minutes .

I recycle as much of our waste as possible, so does everyone else in my street. Waste oil goes to the vats  at the local tip.

I'm not going to feel guilty about having nice things. I work hard and deserve it. Anything we don't need or want any more is sold on Marketplace for a nominal sum or given away. Fuck car boot sales now, the tables are a rip off and you get hardly any space.

I keep my scrap metal and hit up the same guy on messenger every  6 months or so and it gives him a few quid at the bridge.

I have brought several old cars back from the brink and sold them in for further use.

I try not to eat off season produce as its laden with air miles.

I fix my cars or have them fixed.

I'm nice to people I don't know.

I hope that will keep things ticking along in good enough nick for my son's generation.

 

But you’ve still stolen Gretas future! 🤣

[R1152]

41 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Nail head interface.  It's like veganism; one of the biggest turn offs is the people.  I honestly think if it was less of a cult and more of a "yeah, don't really eat that any more and - if you want - I'll tell you why" (and if you don't I won't) more people would likely listen.

I hope I didn't come across as lecturing and sanctimonious - you should buy what you want.  Ultimately, whilst places like China are pumping out shit as they currently are, people like me won't even scratch the surface.  

But I *think* it's possible to have "nice things" via different approaches.  I dunno.  Kids might disagree when, come Christmas, they're unwrapping the remote control for the TV and an old 7a drumstick I found in my Dad's loft.

In my younger days at work I encountered two vegans for the first time. One was quite radical and let you know about it, whilst the other you had no idea that she was other than she always had black tea and coffee and brought her own food in.

I still work with the radical guy and although still true to his roots (he's what we'd now call an ethical vegan) he's greatly mellowed - I did offer to put a (non-woolen) blanket over the seats in my car once for him when I gave him a lift and he told me not to worry! 

However... latter-day "dietary vegans" (who'll still wear leather and wool) really can be sanctimonious buggers. I overheard someone at work moaning that the meat-eaters had eaten "their" food. Sorry, but it looked tasty to this omnivore (and was) ... 

[Dyslexic Viking]

7 minutes ago, sierraman said:

But you’ve still stolen Gretas future! 🤣

The last person to tell me how to live is a spoiled child with no idea how the world works.

[sierraman]

7 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

The last person to tell me how to live is a spoiled child with no idea how the world works.

I’d go as far as to say she is a massive danger to kids who sit there listening to the moron then start adjusting their life to how Greta thinks you should live it.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Agree with that. Here in Norway it is really bad as we have a good number of such people and they also have their own political party. They are scary and have no contact with reality. Some of them suggested stopping producing food here and planting trees instead in agricultural areas as it will be better for the environment.

[BorniteIdentity]

26 minutes ago, R1152 said:

In my younger days at work I encountered two vegans for the first time. One was quite radical and let you know about it, whilst the other you had no idea that she was other than she always had black tea and coffee and brought her own food in.

I still work with the radical guy and although still true to his roots (he's what we'd now call an ethical vegan) he's greatly mellowed - I did offer to put a (non-woolen) blanket over the seats in my car once for him when I gave him a lift and he told me not to worry! 

However... latter-day "dietary vegans" (who'll still wear leather and wool) really can be sanctimonious buggers. I overheard someone at work moaning that the meat-eaters had eaten "their" food. Sorry, but it looked tasty to this omnivore (and was) ... 

But don't sheep like a haircut?  Genuinely - wouldn't they be too hot in summer?  What should we do with the wool according to the vegans - give it back to the sheep? (!)

[Dyslexic Viking]

Not shearing a sheep is animal cruelty and they end up like this.

And wool has many uses think it can also be used as insulation for houses.

[sierraman]

20 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Agree with that. Here in Norway it is really bad as we have a good number of such people and they also have their own political party. They are scary and have no contact with reality. Some of them suggested stopping producing food here and planting trees instead in agricultural areas as it will be better for the environment.

My eldest had been doing some sort of topic at school where they’d been championing Greta, came home and started lecturing us about the environment. Changed her tune somewhat when I explained we’d be walking everywhere in future and we’d go vegetarian. Also there would be no getting on a plane again - although six months later it became apparent that wouldn’t be happening for a long time but for completely different reasons to keeping Greta Thunderbird happy. 

[R1152]

24 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

But don't sheep like a haircut?  Genuinely - wouldn't they be too hot in summer?  What should we do with the wool according to the vegans - give it back to the sheep? (!)

But then you open up the debate about the farming of animals and trust me, that is a rabbit-hole you do not want to go down.

I think perhaps the most radical would be prepared to see several domestic species go extinct in order to release land for crop production. One such example being

Quote

If the world went vegan, we would be able to let these livestock live out their natural life course. Yes, they may pollute a little more gas and waste during the final years of their lives, but the most significant change in greenhouse gas and global warming prevention will be seen once we do not intervene with the natural reproductive cycles of the animals, resulting in declining numbers of animals until a balance is reached.

My mate's quite sensible on this subject; next time I see him I'll have a chat with him because I'd like to know the answer myself, rather than read Internet evangelists.

[R1152]

29 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Agree with that. Here in Norway it is really bad as we have a good number of such people and they also have their own political party. They are scary and have no contact with reality. Some of them suggested stopping producing food here and planting trees instead in agricultural areas as it will be better for the environment.

Have they considered the "food miles" in that, or do they think it'd offset the scary 'carbon'? Only recently here in the UK did we have a respected environmentalist suggest that wholesale tree planting is actually a very bad idea and that either re-wilding - or simply letting Nature take its course - were much better ideas.

In my little corner of England that means brambles, walnuts (courtesy of the BASTARD squirrels) and hawthorns (courtesy of the local dickie-birds)

[R1152]

Meanwhile, I'd like to think that my nearly-eighteen year old 530i is doing its best to be kind to the planet: those figures are from 72 of my 80 mile commute last night, travelled on a dual carriageway that varies in its speed limit and held at those limits by cruise control. It was only being caught at traffic lights that reduced the consumption from a peak of 39.7 mpg. Not bad for a banger with nearly 300,000 miles on the clock.

[TheOtherStu]

My current gripe is office working.

Yes, I understand there's an economy problem there (goes back to economy vs environment - one of the first posts in the thread).

My company (some IT, some banking) is giving everyone the option to work from home. It's being encouraged only from a "work-life balance" point of view rather than genuine cost saving for office space (although clearly, that's something that is happening).

Nearly everyone is happy to work from home. As a manager, I'm happy for my team to take whichever option suits them. Some of the bean counters though are being told by their senior management that they're expected in the office every day and can "have the occasional Friday from home", even though this goes against company policy (the CFO is the main culprit). My sister also works in this industry and her boss has made her come in every day, insisting that she's an "key worker" (She isn't - she works in pensions).

 

So for those of you wondering why the roads have been so pigging busy since last September, this is the main reason. Those people clogging up the M25 aren't manual workers. They're mostly in the financial sector.

 

I'm not looking at those of you who work on farms, or in a garage, or indeed even a shop, but those of you office drones like me who could work from home even a day or two a week and save 40% of our fumes, not to mention time (which is priceless).

 

2 hours ago, R1152 said:

But then you open up the debate about the farming of animals and trust me, that is a rabbit-hole you do not want to go down.

I think perhaps the most radical would be prepared to see several domestic species go extinct in order to release land for crop production. One such example being

My mate's quite sensible on this subject; next time I see him I'll have a chat with him because I'd like to know the answer myself, rather than read Internet evangelists.

Difficult subject indeed. One of the problems with vegan is that it's not what you and I think it is - lots of interestingly cooked vegetables, stews, chillis and so on. Most vegan protein is provided by soya. The other sources are mostly nut,  cereal and grain based. Neither of which the human body is particularly adept at processing very well. I'm sure we all know gluten and nut intolerant folk who genuinely get very ill.

If anyone is interested btw, I have an amazing Vegan chilli recipe. I genuinely prefer it to the meat variety. Unfortunately, my wife doesn't.

So if we just go vegetarian, Dairy products aren't really the answer either. No other animal consumes another animals milk in nature, hence why so many have dairy allergies.

For me (and I'm aware this is probably unpopular, but hey, it's my opinion), the answer is chicken and fish. Fish can be farmed properly, but needs careful management. Chicken is considerably lower in environmental harm than red meats. Both are very high in protein and low in fat.

 

But for all of the above, the biggest thing we need to fix is consumption. We all waste food. We nearly all buy and use processed food. And over 70% of us eat too much (I'm very much included in this statistic).

[R1152]

1 hour ago, TheOtherStu said:

So for those of you wondering why the roads have been so pigging busy since last September, this is the main reason. Those people clogging up the M25 aren't manual workers. They're mostly in the financial sector.

 

I'm not looking at those of you who work on farms, or in a garage, or indeed even a shop, but those of you office drones like me who could work from home even a day or two a week and save 40% of our fumes, not to mention time (which is priceless).

Difficult subject indeed. One of the problems with vegan is that it's not what you and I think it is - lots of interestingly cooked vegetables, stews, chillis and so on. Most vegan protein is provided by soya. The other sources are mostly nut,  cereal and grain based. Neither of which the human body is particularly adept at processing very well. I'm sure we all know gluten and nut intolerant folk who genuinely get very ill.

If anyone is interested btw, I have an amazing Vegan chilli recipe. I genuinely prefer it to the meat variety. Unfortunately, my wife doesn't.

So if we just go vegetarian, Dairy products aren't really the answer either. No other animal consumes another animals milk in nature, hence why so many have dairy allergies.

For me (and I'm aware this is probably unpopular, but hey, it's my opinion), the answer is chicken and fish. Fish can be farmed properly, but needs careful management. Chicken is considerably lower in environmental harm than red meats. Both are very high in protein and low in fat.

But for all of the above, the biggest thing we need to fix is consumption. We all waste food. We nearly all buy and use processed food. And over 70% of us eat too much (I'm very much included in this statistic).

Now... my commute frequently takes me along the A1 when I'm working. Since 3/20 I have noticed that the jams that were so common around junction 7 (Stevenage south) at about 7 am have gone and have never returned. Sadly, I can't WFH but I'm hoping to retire in just over a year and thus take a hammer to my motoring carbon footprint.

Fish farming (especially salmon) attracts a lot of opprobrium from environmentalists because of run-off and antibiotic use, plus there are those allergic to fish.

Similarly, the mass production of chicken attracts severe criticism - someone tried to open a massive chicken facility in the village where my family live primarily to feed the chicken shops of London and Birmingham. Even the local supermarket raised an objection! - if you've ever cycled past a chicken 'farm' you'll know why. Again, massive chicken production facilities cause huge environmental damage - a 100,000 chickens generate an awful lot of waste products.

If anything, food has become far too cheap and that, tied in with "BOGOF" offers from supermarkets, just encourages wasteful practices.

Any chance of you posting your recipe in the AS cookery thread?