How Green are you

[NASHER]

You have probably all seen the sickening act on C02 ads on the telly:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqC594ly2Q8&feature=related[/youtube] :lol:
My question is: how many people on this board actually care about C02 emissions, and global warming, and how many (like me) believe the human impact on climate change is neligable, and this is just another excuse for the government to tax us? :wink: (yup I'm a conspiricy nut)
I've added some examples to the poll. Ignore the car bit if you want to. It just seemed like the easiest way of classing categories.
It would be interesting to see what people think of the issue.
Thanks for responding

 

[Ollie]

I recycle our rubbish at home that's about as far as we go.
As for other stuff we've always been ones to turn lights of in rooms when not in use and to turn the TV off and not leave it on standby.

 

[Ian]

I'm an environmentalist when it suits me.

It's easy to separate rubbish and recycle. I'll use my bicycle when I want exercise. I'll drive my car/catch a plane where it's convenient. I'll turn out lights/tvs if they're not being used, saves money. I expect a plastic bag at a supermarket for picking up my dog's poo.

Tbh, I don't care much for "greenness".

 

[kimahri]

Big fat MEH!

 

[ciallkennett]

Environmentalist. The last time I was in a car was 20th Feb, I recycle LOADS, I walk everywhere close to me, I turn off my tv, computer etc at the socket, I turn off lights etc.

But I don't drive a g-whiz

 

[Crow]

The world's temperature has always fluctuated. Why assume that its CO2?

As for recycling, we are given a small blue box. Good for a couple but for a family of five? No not even close.

I'll recycle when they give us a proper recycle bin.

 

[Patrick]

I'm not even slightly interested tbh. That advert is also extremely annoying.

 

[Mike]

My family recycles most things that we can easily recycle, and turn off lights, heating and things on stand-by. The last 3 (and first to an extent- passing clothes down the family if can still be used), though, are more for financial reasons and not much so for CO2 emissions.

 

[Screaming Coasters]

I don't care much about being green. Don't recycle, my family don't drive normal cars, though I do switch the light off behind me.

What's mad is that recycling actually uses more energy than it would to just burn the rubbish or send it to landfill. I can't see any benefits in it.

 

[A-Kid]

I gotta be honest, I couldn't give a flying ****.

 

[Uncle Arly]

I don't really care.

My parents go on at me for not caring and they say that because they do it, I should. I say to them, that they've been doing it for 40 years of their life, why care now?

 

[Error]

Green enough for me.

I live far from anything and can't afford to get fancy Hybrids or any stuff like that. My computer is on most of the time due to it being so slow to start. The closest thing I'm doing is getting an apple and recycling the old one, but it's due to me not wanting to keep it anymore (that, and I'll likely beat the **** out of it).

 

[DjTommyB]

Not interested tbf.

 

[Mr Nash]

The planet can go **** it's self.

Drink alochol,loads of it.Then you wont give a ****

 

[Gazza]

What's mad is that recycling actually uses more energy than it would to just burn the rubbish or send it to landfill. I can't see any benefits in it.

The point of recycling though is not to save energy on disposal, but to save energy on producing new goods.

Aluminium would be a good example,
If you want to recycle a can, you just melt it down, and make a new one.

Producing a new can would involve mining bauxite, which has to have the aluminium oxide separated using hydrogen peroxide , and from there you then have to obtain the pure Aluminium via electrolysis (And it is the electrolysis stage that uses a lot of electricity) The aluminium blocks produced can then finally be molten down and cans made.

So there is a fair bit of energy and other materials needed to make stuff from scratch compared to the ease of recycling it.

 

[Ian]

Does anybody ever worry that we'll recycle ourselves out of recyclable materials?

We can't keep on recycling forever can we?

 

[Emmett]

I'm really only green when it comes to saving money. We recycle our rubbish because it means we don't have to stick our bins out every week which saves us money.

I cycle everyone becuase its cheap and I don't have to pay any more tax to the robbers in government, not becuase I'm trying to save the environment.

Same with electrical appliances and turning lights off, its down to trying to save money.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

I'm green in the sense that I recycle and all that jazz, but I don't sit here worrying day in and day out at how much smaller the ice caps are getting.

 

[Gazza]

Does anybody ever worry that we'll recycle ourselves out of recyclable materials?

We can't keep on recycling forever can we?

Since the amount of a given resource (Say a metal for instance) is finite, I could imagine it reaching a situation where you'll have all of this metal out in the world in some place or another, and some of it will be tied up in use as objects we use, and the rest of it will be tied up being recycled.

I guess its a bit like clothes you own. Some of it you'll be wearing, some will be in the wash, and some will be hanging in the wardrobe...You'll never actually run out of clothes so long as you keep the whole process going.

 

[NASHER]

^Yes but theoreticly (spelling?) that process is 100% eficient, in that nothing is ever lost. You still have all your clothes, and will continue to have all your clothes.
Now imagine the case of a tin can. As it is melted and reformed, some of the aliminium will gradually be lost. I don't know the exact figures, but I'd guess it's around 80% efficient (maybe someone can corect me).
With the tin can there is a theoretical limit on the number of times it can be melted down and reformed before there is nothing left of it. Althouh recycling will increase the lifetime of certain metals it will not keep them refreshed infinatly. So yes one day we will recycle ourselves out of the materials, but at a much slower rate than if we just used fresh metal.
It is interesting to see how many people aren't bothered by the issue. I definatly though I was in the minority on this.