Environmentalism, socialism, capitalism et al

1finny

Well-known member
And the intricate web they weave.

For the curious.....

A very good podcast series featuring Ed Gillespie (sustainability ‘expert’) and Mark Stevenson (futurologist?).
Jon Richardson kind of plays host and asks the ‘daft questions’.
The series is called ‘Jon Richardson and The Futurehaughts’. Covers all sorts of topics from travel, nature, fashion to education.
I’d recommend you do them in order because some overlap a bit.

It’s pretty challenging stuff but can be a bit ‘holier than thou’ at times as everything goes unchallenged.

As a taster - we all probably own a pair of jeans or two. When you look to buy your next pair consider
* It takes 20000 litres of water to make 1 pair
* Over 40000 Indian cotton farmers have taken their lives over the last 40 years as a result of debt caused by expoitation.
Make your jeans (and other clothes) last.....
 
is the water re usable?
I buy black jeans and i have had a pair from a charity shop (i don't wear them at all in summer) i would expect six years at least from one pair.Normally have 2 pairs on the go.
 
is the water re usable?
I buy black jeans and i have had a pair from a charity shop (i don't wear them at all in summer) i would expect six years at least from one pair.Normally have 2 pairs on the go.

I’m not sure but I doubt it.
Must admit that episode was great - means you I can walk past clothes shops without even looking in the window.
I won’t be buying any clothes for years - got more than enough.
 
I don't have any jeans.

It takes 320 litres to grow a pound of avocados. I don't eat avocados.
 
I don't have any jeans.

It takes 320 litres to grow a pound of avocados. I don't eat avocados.

That, sir, is a startling stat - and, I might add quite unsettling.
5 mins ago just been told we are having avocado on toast for lunch (n)

They will be my last avocados
 
That, sir, is a startling stat - and, I might add quite unsettling.
5 mins ago just been told we are having avocado on toast for lunch (n)

They will be my last avocados
It's worse than I thought. 320 litres to grow one avocado!
 
I have never eaten an avocado - tried a bite or two years back but found they were not to my taste.
I think my last 2 pairs of jeans are at least 4 years old...then again, I haven't worn much in the way of jeans or anything but a t-shirt, shorts of tracksuit bottoms since this shïtshow began. Surely they would recycle the water though so that you maximise the use for n pairs of jeans?
 
Weve been using the same water for 4 billion years, reused from the dinos and the biggest polluter the asteroid
 
I will have a listen, thanks for sharing.

That suicide stat is shocking.

With regards the water comments, is it clean water/ drinking water/ dirty water/ natural rain water etc? I find it is difficult to quantify such an amount and how it is sourced/ reused.

I will have to look at my water metre and see what I use on my garden.
 
And the intricate web they weave.

For the curious.....

A very good podcast series featuring Ed Gillespie (sustainability ‘expert’) and Mark Stevenson (futurologist?).
Jon Richardson kind of plays host and asks the ‘daft questions’.
The series is called ‘Jon Richardson and The Futurehaughts’. Covers all sorts of topics from travel, nature, fashion to education.
I’d recommend you do them in order because some overlap a bit.

It’s pretty challenging stuff but can be a bit ‘holier than thou’ at times as everything goes unchallenged.

As a taster - we all probably own a pair of jeans or two. When you look to buy your next pair consider
* It takes 20000 litres of water to make 1 pair
* Over 40000 Indian cotton farmers have taken their lives over the last 40 years as a result of debt caused by expoitation.
Make your jeans (and other clothes) last.....


Be careful using your bags for life as well. The cotton ones require you to re-use them 20,000 times to have the same environmental impact as a single plastic bag. There are a ridiculous number of things that seem to be like good choices but actually aren't. Also see locally grown veg. It sounds sensible to buy local to reduce the distance travelled but the travelling can have a smaller footprint than buying local if the local producer is using heated greenhouses.
 
Be careful using your bags for life as well. The cotton ones require you to re-use them 20,000 times to have the same environmental impact as a single plastic bag. There are a ridiculous number of things that seem to be like good choices but actually aren't. Also see locally grown veg. It sounds sensible to buy local to reduce the distance travelled but the travelling can have a smaller footprint than buying local if the local producer is using heated greenhouses.

They do a whole piece on ‘plastic bags’. In a nutshell - it’s popular, makes people think they are doing something but, in the scheme of things its all a bit ‘meh’

You are right on bags for life - its the same on paper bags (massive carbon footprint compared with plastic)
 
They do a whole piece on ‘plastic bags’. In a nutshell - it’s popular, makes people think they are doing something but, in the scheme of things its all a bit ‘meh’

You are right on bags for life - its the same on paper bags (massive carbon footprint compared with plastic)

Paper bags have a big carbon footprint to produce but a very small one to dispose of because they degrade easily (usually while you are carrying them). Plastic are really good environmentally, they just don't degrade and so even though they are much better environmentally than cotton they cause another problem in clogging up the oceans. I'm sure the conclusion was that the best option is plastic bags but to re-use them. Nothing comes close to using the same bag 5x.

I'm not a big environmentalist so I don't go out of my way too much but it annoys me when we get told to do something that seems like tokenism. The plastic bag charge annoyed me because the big supermarkets seemed to benefit the most because they now charge for something they used to give away for free and in reality the impact on the environment is negligible. It is especially negligible when you consider the amount of plastic you take home from the supermarket in those bags. McDonalds stopped giving out plastic straws but they still give you a cup you can't recycle with a plastic lid. The paper straw is fine until you order a milkshake and you can't finish it so you have to use two etc. There needs to be more understanding and information provided on life-cycle impacts instead of just picking one step in the process to make people think they are doing good that actually delivers no benefit.
 
Paper bags have a big carbon footprint to produce but a very small one to dispose of because they degrade easily (usually while you are carrying them). Plastic are really good environmentally, they just don't degrade and so even though they are much better environmentally than cotton they cause another problem in clogging up the oceans. I'm sure the conclusion was that the best option is plastic bags but to re-use them. Nothing comes close to using the same bag 5x.

I'm not a big environmentalist so I don't go out of my way too much but it annoys me when we get told to do something that seems like tokenism. The plastic bag charge annoyed me because the big supermarkets seemed to benefit the most because they now charge for something they used to give away for free and in reality the impact on the environment is negligible. It is especially negligible when you consider the amount of plastic you take home from the supermarket in those bags. McDonalds stopped giving out plastic straws but they still give you a cup you can't recycle with a plastic lid. The paper straw is fine until you order a milkshake and you can't finish it so you have to use two etc. There needs to be more understanding and information provided on life-cycle impacts instead of just picking one step in the process to make people think they are doing good that actually delivers no benefit.

Small point - the 5p all goes to charity (apart from a small admin fee which few supermarkets actually claim)
All the evidence says the 5p reusable bag is best
Apart from the obvious and game changing
Fully compostable carrier bag (within about 4 weeks). Sadly the recycling infrastructure in the uk is regional not national and most local authorities can’t take advantage of it - madness
 
Small point - the 5p all goes to charity (apart from a small admin fee which few supermarkets actually claim)
All the evidence says the 5p reusable bag is best
Apart from the obvious and game changing
Fully compostable carrier bag (within about 4 weeks). Sadly the recycling infrastructure in the uk is regional not national and most local authorities can’t take advantage of it - madness

I more meant it as a cost saving for the supermarkets because they aren't providing them for free in the volumes they used to but I presume they are recouping costs via the bags for life. It is only the 5p single-use bags that have a requirement that the proceeds goes to charity. Depends how honourable the companies are as to how much of the bags for life goes to charity.
 
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