An inconvenient truth: environmental perspective film vs digital

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I'm with Pedro Reis. Couldn't have said it better. And, no, I haven't brushed much less flossed today.
On a realistic note, why don't we discuss ways to minimize impact without throwing the film down the drain with the developer?
Here's how I currently deal with my chemistry- and I have both a wet darkroom and film to develop.
Developers- allowed to oxidize for a week, then mixed with stop in an effort to neutralize, then dumped in the drain.
Fixer- recycled via at a local one hour joint.
Toner (selenium)- goes to HazMat pickup after enough is gathered.
Wash aid- just goes down the drain.
I'm looking into buying or making a low flow archival print washer to ease washing and reduce water usage.
Anyone have suggestions to reduce pollution and consumption more?
 
Gabriel M.A. said:
can I ask who brushed their teeth today? I mean, really brushed their teeth?
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I did. I really brushed my teeth as I had a filling at the dentists on Monday and a I am hyper sensitive after the shock of my first ever filling at the age of 34.....🙁
 
Environmentalists will have us believe that cars pollute or this pollutes or that pollutes. In reality EVERYTHING pollutes to a certain degree. Some things more than others.

The process of manufacturing whether it be digital cameras or even film cameras causes pollution. Making plastics releases cyanide gas into the air. I know...I worked in the plastics industry for 10 years. Metal smelting releases hydro-carbons into the air. As we all know cameras are made of both materials..

Companies dump their polluted waste into the lakes, rivers, and oceans and even bury it in the ground. This is more of a problem than dumping your used developer down the drain. So in order to stop pollution we as a people will have to cease to exist. Even that won't stop pollution since the process of decay releases methane gas which has been determined to be a pollutant..
 
Really, instead of trying to conserve what is left of our natural resources, we should blow the lot in a massive global fossil fuel party. It'd suck the next day, but people would talking about the blow out for weeks...

Alternatively we should pool our resources to build a giant space ship to go and find other planets with lots of oil to burn and useless animals to hunt to extinction. There's bound to be loads out there.


We're all in a massive entropy trap - resistance is futile
 
I've tried to reuse as much as possible where I can. I shave with an old DE razor and lather with soap and brush to keep plastic razors and cans of compressed goop out of landfills, and I write with a fountain pen with ink from a bottle, so no plastic pens end up in the trash either. I try to use materials that are environmentally friendly where I can and biodegradable is a must. Foods are usually organics to keep pesticides down. I just worry about what I CAN do, and do it. as for film vs. digital, both have their ups and downs. I think it's just about even there...
 
I personally think Al Gore should have quit while he was ahead.. which was right after he invented the internet
 
FrankS said:
I teach the next generation to care about the environment, and show them Al Gore's film.
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Just don't show them Al Gore's electric bill.

As far as film vs digital and environmental impact-heck, just breathing is an impact. Make peace with your existence.
 
Yawn...reminds me of the story of the guy who buys a big mac with large fries and makes sure he orders a diet coke to go with it. It's really not going to make a difference...

Global warming has been happening for centuries. Temps go up, they go down. We used to have vinyards here in England. Oliver Cromwell died of malaria. We didn't have cars then, we didn't have camera's then, something bigger is at work.
 
Yawn...reminds me of the story of the guy who buys a big mac with large fries and makes sure he orders a diet coke to go with it. It's really not going to make a difference...
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Just for the taste of it....
 
If there's one thing we can do to reduce pollution, it is to have less children and encourage others to do the same. The world's biggest environmental problem is our sheer numbers.
Say, how many kids does Gore have?
 
Bryce said:
If there's one thing we can do to reduce pollution, it is to have less children and encourage others to do the same. The world's biggest environmental problem is our sheer numbers.
Say, how many kids does Gore have?
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Hey, perhaps that's why the Dinosaurs died out - drastic climate change brought about by their sheer numbers - could have been the methane in their farts? Come to think of it, how much methane is produced by the average American? Americans are always blamed for causeing a disproportionate amount of pollution, but personally I get more farts from chilli or curry, perhaps we should be looking to our Mexican and Indian friends and their environmental impact too!

Pass the enchilada
 
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Bryce said:
If there's one thing we can do to reduce pollution, it is to have less children and encourage others to do the same. The world's biggest environmental problem is our sheer numbers.
Say, how many kids does Gore have?
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well, there is his son that was nearly expelled from prep school for getting busted smoking pot too many times.. I think the media was too busy following the Bush twins (and who wouldn't be?) to pay attention to the Gore stories
 
Bryce said:
If there's one thing we can do to reduce pollution, it is to have less children and encourage others to do the same. The world's biggest environmental problem is our sheer numbers.
Say, how many kids does Gore have?
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Amen, brother. That is exactly the ultimate problem. 6.6 billion and counting...
 
JoeFriday said:
I think the media was too busy following the Bush twins (and who wouldn't be?) to pay attention to the Gore stories
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I keep on seeing building fires and shootings prominently over world events just fine. I think they're doing fine on the gore stories 😉
 
How do we encourage people to have less children?

How should I break the news to my freind who has 4 lovely kids that he has to reduce headcount?

Seriously though, China does this, and it works, but a lot of BAD stuff happens to unwanted extra kids or first-born girls there.

Used properly, the planet should be able to support and sustain the current population and more.
 
interesting and timely thread for me....I have been looking for a new house ( something built in the last 20 years ) and the last 3 houses I found attractive for my family all were within 2 miles of a superfund site....scary crap.... I passed on all 3 houses.... did you know something like 30% of americans live within 10 miles of a superfund site... do you know how close one is to you?

Dan
 
Dan-
I live within 2 miles of a superfund site. It is not being cleaned up because the superfund is super unfunded the last few years....

Silva Lining-
You can't put 'em back. And yes, there are awful things happening in many places for many sick, pathetic excuses. China in particular has many of them, and will pay heineously in the future for it. Unfortunately, the rest of us will be made to suffer too.
Bottom line is that the population will continue to climb until either we fix the problem or Ma Nature does it for us. I'd rather not see the second fix, but that's clearly where we're headed!
 
You're welcome not to like Al Gore, like I think Bush and Cheney are despicable incompetent #&$^%, but it's not "him" (Gore) that's pushing the science of global warming. It's irrefutable science at this point, and I appreciate any high-profile person helping to get the word out. That said, to say that digital cameras and "digital" in general is more eco-friendly than film. Dunno about that. Printer inks - and ink cartridges are not good things for the environment. Digital cameras, with their short life, ends up in landfills, like all other technology required to view digital images. Certainly film chemistry isn't environmentally friendly. Here's a good thread about ways to make black and white film chemistry a little greener:
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00ARLY
 
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