I know as Spartans we are supposed to save Earth....

[Soul Drinker]

So why don't we start with a little giving back to our environment? Now, I know many of you might be thinking that I'm some crazy environmental activisit, but I'm not. I try to give back here and there where and when I can, whether it's thrift shopping, renting my college textbooks, recycling or cultivating my own garden, but that's really it.

I started thinking about how much paper we as a community use when I was working on a Pepped suit. I know this isn't the main method of building. I'm upgrading to sculpting soon myself, but the Pepakura method has a rather large usage in our community. Paper is expensive, especially cardstock, (let alone fiberglass, bondo, LEDs, and strapping) and I'm sure you guys (like me) try to save space when Pepping by cramming as many pieces as you can on one page. As I noticed though, it doesn't always work. There is a massive amount of unused cardstock trash in my bag I use for excess.

What do you guys do with the excess? Shred it and spread in your gardens, make confetti, paper mache, line birdcages, what?

I just had a thought that as a community trying to save Earth from destruction, we might want to start a little closer to home, first. Maybe planting some trees. Recycling more. Something. There is definitely the famous picture of Adam on the toilet in his suit. Perhaps we should start having pictures of us planting trees. Just a thought, if anyone has any ideas or wishes to help.

Soul-Drinker

 

[SchizophrenicMC]

Honestly, what I do is let it fall into a wastebin beneath my desk. From there, it goes, typically, once a month, to the local Municipal Sanitation Facility, where it is either pushed into an ever-growing pile of waste, or combusted for a minimal energy gain.

That being said, almost every other piece of paper and paper-related materials, as well as all plastics, metals, and glass that is discarded in my house is recycled, either through the City of Arlington recycling system, or a private metal recycling company.

We use as few shopping bags as we can, here, and try to cut electrical and gasoline usage as much as possible.

So, please, forgive me, if my (generally, unrecycleable) armoring supplies end up in general refuse. Dragging the recycling bin in here for the scraps of paper that fall through the holes in the bottom is not worth my time and effort, and the rest of the supplies are wasted chip brushes, resin-caked latex gloves, and, well, scrap bondo, rondo, and resin, left in the bottom of the mixing containers.

I recycle the resin, bondo, acetone, and paint cans, thank you very much.

 

[Wolfo217]

i reuse pages sometimes if something goes rong and i hvnt cut it yet to save on paper and not hving to re print with a new sheet

 

[Ownnemesis]

i think becoming an enviromentally friendly builder is a smart idea. When i was in college, recycling was a huge thing on and around campus. Now since ive moved back home its been a bit more tough to recycle my waste paper, my community has never started a recycling program up. (I personally think its stupid that we havent). When im working on my armor, I try to use my paper and other materials as wisely as possible, producing the least amount of waste possible. I also go to local stores to buy my supplies, which helps cut down on my GHG emissions, as well as saves gas.

 

[Soul Drinker]

I wasn't taking a stab at anyone, SchizophrenicMC, by any means. I was merely curious to see what other people did with their refuse. And it definitely does give someone good spirit to see that at least some of us, like you, care that much. ^_^
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/member.php/12023-SchizophrenicMC

 

[Hickeydog]

It gets put into the paper recycling container. Ever since the local recycling center started taking cardboard, my family of 7 will produce 1 large trash can of waste every month or so. Everything else gets recycled.

 

[Nintendude]

Well with my saving the enviroment when I was doing resining and glassing I did'nt use cloth or mat inside my pieces I used strips of resin soaked newspaper for the inside, most of the time there are no air bubbles because it molds itself to the inside of a part, also used plastic bags to have my resined part on so I did'nt damage what I had it on underneath. Also whenever I go grocery shopping I usually take a couple big bags of plastic bags from shopping into the store for recycling.

 

[rundown]

I eat it! lol no

I just collect it seperatly from my other garbage, and 3 times a months they collect it at our doors save the environment yey!

 

[Sigma LS]

I have built 2 pep suits and 6 helmets over the last 3 years. You know how many reams of cardstock I've gone through? 3 and a half.

You know how many reams of printer paper I've gone through just printing essential papers and drafts for my school work during the same time? 11 and change.

Cardstock is a marginal issue. It's like styrofoam cups to me. I maybe use 10 in a given year so I don't feel at all bad at tossing them into the garbage or the campfire or whatever.

A lot of stuff has nothing to do with the environment either/save the world kind of BS. It's just smart or makes the world a more beautiful place.

Have a garden? Good for you, makes you feel good and you get some tasty stuff out of it. Does it change the world? No. If anything you are hurting agriculture and agricultural research and efforts at soil conservation.

Recycling paper? Over half of those paper recycling things are fake. My old university had paper bins and all that stuff. You know what they actually did with all of it? They put it in a big dumpster behind the Univeristy power plant and burned it. This is because shipping to a pulp mill across the country is often more expensive than it's worth.Over half fake is not stretching the statistics either. It really is that bad.

Second hand shopping? Well it's just the smart thing to do. You get quality stuff for a fraction of list price. And if you have classical tastes like me then it's the only way to get lovely Victorian furniture. Yard sales and the salvation army and stuff has been around forever and I've always gone. However, now, many of those people who used to turn their noses up at the thought of "used" are in there shopping with everyone else. Same with animals. When I was a kid, we always took in lost animals. People would turn their noses up and talk about their pure-bred this or that, but now brag about things being "a rescue". And you know it really is a good thing. But it has nothing to do with the environment.


The purpose of planting trees is not to do anything at all to save the Earth. Grassland strips and holds more Carbon from the air than a forest ever could. People enjoy trees, they are pleasing to the eye, they live long and stand as a memorial to a deed long past. They are lovely wonderful things. But to say you are doing anything for the environment by planting trees is like saying you are doing God's work on a church trip to 6 flags.


Now let me talk for a second about Conservation. I am 100% behind Conservation. The great Teddy Roosevelt, who spent several trips near my hometown during his presidency, always was a huge proponent, established out National Parks and Wildlife Refuges. To preserve the variety and majesty of nature is a worthy cause. You will not change climate, you will not save the world, but you can save a little magic left on earth for our children. Husbanding our resources is just the smart thing to do...

"We of an older generation can get along with what we have, though with growing hardship; but in your full manhood and womanhood you will want what nature once so bountifully supplied and man so thoughtlessly destroyed; and because of that want you will reproach us, not for what we have used, but for what we have wasted...So any nation which in its youth lives only for the day, reaps without sowing, and consumes without husbanding, must expect the penalty of the prodigal whose labor could with difficulty find him the bare means of life."


And to let you know my qualifications, I am a geologist with a Masters in environmental reconstruction, so I am really not trying to BS you.

 

[Varsity]

u have a garden whats in it in it blueberries or carrots mmmmnnnnn or chocolate.... just sayin..mmmmnnnn chocolate

 

[SchizophrenicMC]

I wasn't taking a stab at anyone, SchizophrenicMC, by any means. I was merely curious to see what other people did with their refuse. And it definitely does give someone good spirit to see that at least some of us, like you, care that much. ^_^

Didn't imply you were. I was being ironic with myself.

And, Sigma, while I understand your reasoning, the amount of effort it takes to throw paper in a recycling bin, versus a trash can is negligible, and gives at least a chance of it actually hitting a recycling program. It's worth the shot to me.

In any case, stigma is what makes conservationism so inefficient. The stigma that a tree is effective at carbon retention, or that corn is a good source of ethanol. The stigma that anything you do to help is something. It pushes people to the bare minimum. As you said, grasslands are far better at carbon retention. For that matter, ethanol can be extracted in far larger quantities from switchgrass and similar plants that grow en masse, without any form of farming necessary, and without decreasing food crops. It's not as popularized, though. It's basically a weed, right? It's not the popular fruit people have consumed for centuries.

But, I'm rambling. All-in-all, I wanna see hydrogen combustion engines and electric drivetrains. Near-zero carbon emissions (haven't quite gotten rid of carbon-based lubricants) and lighter-weight vehicles in that. But, that's a pipe dream.

 

[Sigma LS]

Didn't imply you were. I was being ironic with myself.

And, Sigma, while I understand your reasoning, the amount of effort it takes to throw paper in a recycling bin, versus a trash can is negligible, and gives at least a chance of it actually hitting a recycling program. It's worth the shot to me.

I understand that view as well. And I usually do the same thing (but I'm really a metal hound as that actually puts some cash in my pocket). Still, I thought it was important to hammer home again that just because it says it's going to be "recycled" or part of a "green" program on the label does not mean that it's the truth. In fact it's just as likely to be false as true most of the time. And the fact that many municipalities lie about it too just gets under my skin, especially when I see all the kind caring people drop off what they have thoughtfully been saving just for cruel people to laugh and waste their effort.

In any case, stigma is what makes conservationism so inefficient. The stigma that a tree is effective at carbon retention, or that corn is a good source of ethanol. The stigma that anything you do to help is something. It pushes people to the bare minimum. As you said, grasslands are far better at carbon retention. For that matter, ethanol can be extracted in far larger quantities from switchgrass and similar plants that grow en masse, without any form of farming necessary, and without decreasing food crops. It's not as popularized, though. It's basically a weed, right? It's not the popular fruit people have consumed for centuries.

I like to call it Environmental Propaganda. There was a really good debate on MSNBC I think about 3 months ago that had the top Ag guy from Britain, a 3rd Gen Midwest Farmer, an A&M soil scientist, a top organic chemist from OU and a top Baylor climatologist vs. an organic food company rep and some other schmucks with no real training in any scientific field or any practical experience in what they were espousing. They were just the public face of their interests. And the pros destroyed the schmoes with solid evidence and logic on what worked and what didn't for conservation. But you know who won the debate? The schmoes by popular vote.

That is the world we live in. Some people just don't care to have to figure stuff out. Dogma and believing what you hear over actually thinking and researching yourself is a sad, sad thing.

But, I'm rambling. All-in-all, I wanna see hydrogen combustion engines and electric drivetrains. Near-zero carbon emissions (haven't quite gotten rid of carbon-based lubricants) and lighter-weight vehicles in that. But, that's a pipe dream.

Me I'm for more nuclear reactors and smart conservation. Fusion if you want my pipe dream.

Hell if anything, we should be promoting the space industry as 405thers. You Texas guys around SpaceX in McGreggor where I used to be near should see if we could help with a photo op sometime or even NASA in Houston. Is the 501st involved in anything like that?

I should at least be able to do some kind of charity stuff later this year. I couldn't do Child's Play this year for time and cash reasons but I'm definitely interested in getting involved in that stuff again soon.

And well, to get us thinking about charity and helping people at all, thanks OP. It's always a good thing. I'm sorry if I came off a bit harsh in the first post.

 

[SchizophrenicMC]

Well, yeah, I mean, Fusion is my pipe dream, too, but I was speaking, simply, of automotive propulsion systems.

 

[Ownnemesis]

I wasn't taking a stab at anyone, SchizophrenicMC, by any means. I was merely curious to see what other people did with their refuse. And it definitely does give someone good spirit to see that at least some of us, like you, care that much. ^_^
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/member.php/12023-SchizophrenicMC

I guess my degree's opened my eyes to what we as people have been doing to the world. I do what i can to contribute my part in helping out the environment. Guess I've become a partial tree hugger over the years.

 

[Soul Drinker]

Yeah I honestly have not used that much cardstock, either, Sigma. I mainly have to use paper for my college courses, as well, and soemtimes when you can just turn in the paper to them electronically instead..it really grates my nerves. And again, I wasn't trying to offend anyone or apparently stir some stuff up. I was merely curious if it crossed anyone else's minds, or if they had some good ideas.

I honestly don't know what to save the environment, I just listed some things I try to do to help out, even if much of it is fake, and I do realize that. Much of the thrifting or gardening that some of my friends or neighbors do is mostly in revolt against major corporations or just to save money. I also do realize that Teddy Roosevelt was the main person to establish much of our national park systems, and also a natural science man himself. (I'm also related, lol)

And I don't know why everyone is getting so pissed off at me for posting this? I was merely curious to see what you guys did, if anything, and what people had to say on the matter. It feels to me as if some of you posting responses are thinking that I am lashing out at our community. I am definitely not. I enjoy being a member of the 405th very much, because of the freedom of costuming it allows, and how everyone is so friendly here. Many people I know and am close with are big environmental hounds. So I figured I would seek the input of my fellow 405thers.

I also do not pretend to know anything about "saving the environment." Yet again, I was seeking opinions. I wasn't trying to say, "You guys are all TERRIBLE people for using this much paper and dangerous materials." Definitely not. I was merely curious.

 

[Soul Drinker]

I guess I should read all the posts before I reply to one person, whoops!

There definitely is a propaganda in just about everything these days, including the environment. People tend to just hear and read what they believe in the news at face value, and therein lies the problem. You are definitely correct in saying, "That is the world we live in. Some people just don't care to have to figure stuff out. Dogma and believing what you hear over actually thinking and researching yourself is a sad, sad thing." People don't research things themselves. They just don't care. Look at me. I haven't researched anything environmentally. I just like nature. And making costumes, haha. :/ If anything, I would recommend a book called "Propaganda and the Public Mind," by Noam Chomsky. Spectacular read.

I guess the best some of us, (like me) can hope for is to just contribute how we can. I try and use as little cardstock. But that is probably canceled out by the sheer amount of paper I use for all my college papers. >_< Grr...

 

[Sigma LS]

No worries. You got a good heart and genuinely care which is the most important thing.

It's just something that cuts a little close to home for me. I've been on here over 3 years and I used to always give advice on scaling and assembling and such. But after the 50th or 60th time you answer the exact same question on misinformation your patience starts to wear a little thin.

I've been teaching college freshman for 6 years so far so it's twice as bad. And what's worse is some of the people I worked under knowingly take advantage of the system and misinformation to illegally sqeeeze money for research. It's like the people at the top that are stirring the pot have no honor at all. Some out of malice and some out of stupidity, and some by both. Hey but what's new about politicians am I right? The bad part is the politics are seeping into the science, people are fudging results and even outright lying to get their research money. As someone who idolized this science since I was 2 it is soul-crushing to see it poisoned like this.

 

[HeavyGunner]

People tend to just hear and read what they believe in the news at face value, and therein lies the problem.

Sadly, that's very true. So many people are too stupid to do research and find out where the latest "Global warming" studies are done, and under what circumstances the results are gathered. The same goes for any type of enviromental issue. It just seems like you can weasel money from anyone to study anything you darn well please.

@Sigma, in your opinion, what is the best way an individual can benefit the world we live in? That is, without coming off as an obsessed greenie, or a "Burn moar oil" type attitude?

 

[RoxyRoo]

It's paper. I just put stuff it in my recycling bin.

 

[insert username]

scrap card stock?
In the recycling which gose to the council depo and im not sure what happens then but i think its like sold of the the companys who claim to be "ENVIROMENTALLY FREINDLY"

And it is my strong opinion that hydrogen is the short and long term solution to fossile fuels!
Hydrogen Combustion engins in the short term and Hydrogen Fuel cells in the long term!
In fact i beleive in it so much i made an electrolosis chamber in my room it makes Hydrogen!! and pure oxygen to but yeah