204

No its not my only contribution, I avoid using plastic whenever I can. I will pay a little bit more to avoid plastic, shop local at farmers markets etc. As I said earlier, I compost, recycle. Low flow toilet, shower installed. I also collect rainwater to water my lawn, use alternative cleaning solutions. Just a whole host of little things.

Of course my lifestyle is not perfectly environmentally friendly but we do our bit as much as we can and our kids as they set up their own homes seem to be doing similar things which makes me happy.

I try to help the environment more than I hurt it and maybe thats the best any of us can do.

205

What percent of your carbon footprint do you estimate you have reduced?

206

Not sure but its not going to stop me trying.

Why is it so important to you to convince me what I am doing is useless? Its better than doing nothing.

Perhaps if we all took the same approach and did what we can, it could make a bigger difference than we realize.

It cant hurt to take baby steps. Its certainly better than the opposite.

207

Iā€™m not trying to convince you of anything. Iā€™m only trying to educate you enough to have a better perspective about your contributions, both negative and positive, toward the environment because you sound very naive.

Food for thought.

Manā€™s contribution to ā€œnaturalā€ emissions of CO2 is about 3.5-4% annually. Of that ā€œexcessā€ about 60% is absorbed by the oceans, plants and organisms, leaving only about 1.5% excess to accumulate in the atmosphere. The US allegedly contributes 27% of global CO2, therefore, about .4% of the accumulating excess. If the US were to reduce our emissions to zero, it would not prevent further accumulation and thus theoretically, global warming. But what would happen to us who live here?

Your token contribution is admirable, but donā€™t delude yourself into thinking that you are making a measurable difference.

By the way, I have conducted my life environmentally as you now claim to do, since I was a child. But long ago, I realized how futile that is when the global population has more than tripled in my lifetime.

2 Likes
208

Its okay I dont need any education. I know I am just one person but I sure prefer doing what I am doing and setting a good example to my family.

209

Good for you. So I presume we wonā€™t be hearing anymore holier-than-thou speeches.

1 Like
210

Its not holier than thou. People are free to do what they want.

Just gave my opinion and perspective on a messageboard which is why we all post here.

211

In a most-holy manner. :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes
212

TouchƩ my friend. Well played.

:grinning:

213

Along with the plastic bag bans in NJ, you also have to ask for a straw at restaurants. So waiters now ask you if you want a straw when ordering drinks. But most places that I go to, if not a chain restaurant, completely ignore that detail and give you a straw anyway.

1 Like
214

It only took about 3 years for the ā€œre-usableā€ bags sold at check out to return to the same size they were before the we were forced to pay for them. At first they were about 5 gallons and very heavy duty, but Iā€™m sure they bought new laws and now we are charged for the same bag we got for free a few years ago.

Even though the state knows reusable bags are unsanitary as they would not fill them during covid.
So, just dems making people poorer again for big corps profits.

215

In the UK plastic straws have been banned. This among other measures has decreased dramatically the amount of plastic waste in the UK as well as plastic in rivers and surrounding seas.

Again its not an all encompassing solution but steps in the right direction.

216

The new paper straws are terrible. The are not like the paper straws from years ago (before Plastic-BP)

The texture is horrible.

217

Thatā€™s because they are made out of recycled toilet paper. :wink:

2 Likes
218

Do they have an alternative? I really donā€™t mind paper straws. I just sometimes want a straw. It doesnā€™t have to be plastic.

219

Are they really? I havenā€™t tried one yet. I only remember the ones from the 70s, early 80s.

220

Meh, not really. lol

While you may have reduced your personal, physical usage, the fact that you use the electrical grid in your state means youā€™re literally trading burnt plastic, rail ties, and diapers, mixed with the green vegetation of a live ecosystem, for your conveniences.

Itā€™s so hilarious to me that the rise in ā€œgreenā€ energy has all but amounted to an order of magnitude increase in carbon emissions. The overwhelming majority of ā€œgreenā€ energy is so-called biomass, and that term is as loose as the chicks I used to whore around with in my exploratory years. :rofl:

3 Likes
221

It has done nothing.

When will the effort to replace plastic with glass in food and drink containers begin?

After every last plastic straw is vanished!

222

Again I can only make a difference in my small corner of the world. We donā€™t use straws and I donā€™t use them in restaurants. As our existing plastic containers need replacing we are not buying plastic.

Of course using plastic is unavoidable, no way to eliminate it 100% but I have certainly significantly reduced my own personal usage where I can.

Educated my kids on this and its great to see they are also implementing their own restrictions. Which makes me proud to see them aware of a wider world Round them.

223

I am looking at scale.

Now say we go to glass over plastic. Will we accept all the cuts and injury and mess with a vessel prone to breaking with the understanding the environment is safer?

Would the environment be safer if we are getting cut and spilled and spoiled more often by glass. It also takes considerable energy to melt and mold and transport glass over plastic.

This is why the paper vs plastic bag is so interesting. IMO it is six of one and half a dozen of the other.

We HAVE done this before.