Umbrellas: a serious ecological issue | 28 comments (28 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Umbrellas: a serious ecological issue (4.00 / 4)

Yes, the throwaway society. I have sitting around the house several pieces of electronic stuff which are inoperative for one reason or another.

The problem is the cost of labor. I just got a quote on fixing my old home movie projector. It needs two rubber belts (glorified rubber bands) and a cleaning. The quote: $150. The cost of materials $.10.

Some entrepreneur could make a living off taking in broken stuff shipping it off to a third world country for repair where labor is cheap and then shipping it back. This seems to work for fixing people and didn't I read that some fishery is Scotland is shipping local shrimp to Thailand for cleaning and then shipping them back to the UK?

Many items are made in automated factories and contain parts too small to be manipulated by humans, so fixing them is impossible.

The whole thing started with the demise (in the US) of the returnable glass milk bottle and has just gone down hill from there...

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape

by rdf (robert.feinman@gmail.com) on Tue Dec 5th, 2006 at 01:16:28 PM EST

Re: Umbrellas: a serious ecological issue (4.00 / 2)

That's also because (and to me the main reason) of intellectual property madness.

If constructors gave away schematics and didn't sue reparators all the time (and try to control them), the situation would be very different.

Another negative effect of intellectual property.

by Laurent GUERBY on Tue Dec 5th, 2006 at 01:47:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

ånterestingly (none / 1)

the shrimp argument is the killer :-) As the pervert

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Dec 5th, 2006 at 07:22:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Umbrellas: a serious ecological issue (none / 0)

I remember when "non-returnable glass" was introduced as a great advance in Spain about 20 years ago. Within 10 years everyone was already wringing their hands about recycling, but it didn't seem to occur to anyone to go back to returnable glass.

Another howler was when drink cartons acquired a plastic spigot, making them a lot harder to recycle, this within the last 10 years.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Dec 6th, 2006 at 10:24:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Umbrellas: a serious ecological issue | 28 comments (28 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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