Pipeline protesters back

[rustled]

...
- Get rid of consumerism. Products to meet minimum useful life standards.
...

The reality is, we need to use less, and what we buy has to last longer.

x100

Somewhere along the line, everything became a consumable. Much of what we purchase should be considered an investment and treated as such.

[hobbyguy]

...
- Get rid of consumerism. Products to meet minimum useful life standards.
...

The reality is, we need to use less, and what we buy has to last longer.

x100

Somewhere along the line, everything became a consumable. Much of what we purchase should be considered an investment and treated as such.

Yup. Just as an example, the old GE made in Canada/USA electric kettles would last 20-25 years. The current made in (insert low wage country here) electric kettles are lucky to last 3-4 years, the cheap ones less.

Bought a toaster a little while ago - didn't realize until later that the lever that pushes the toast down is plastic - ya right, like that is going to last!

[rustled]

For two decades, we have been strongly encouraged to replace major appliances that have served us well with energy efficient models, and yet the salespeople are not surprised when these energy efficient models fail before they are ten years old. When my "energuide" refrigerator packed it in at the tender age of 8, I was told environmental protection rules made it impossible to replace the condenser. Was this true? I don't know, but fer cryin' out loud, I'd never gotten less than 20 years out of a fridge. Energy efficient doesn't mean what it ought to mean.

We wouldn't need so much fossil fuel if we weren't doing such a crap job of looking at the bigger picture. People who genuinely care about the environment are not going to solve the bigger problem, the one that needs to be addressed, by focusing on pipelines. It's like fussing over what kind of bandage to use to minimize potential for infection, instead of dealing with what's causing the wound.

[JagXKR]

Besides we'll see how much fun the corvette is having in five years when gas is at least twice what it is now.

Also any tech predictions that go beyond five years are silly, after that point the likeliness of some new unheard of thing coming out of nowhere and blowing everyone away is too high.

And gas price predictions are even more "silly". This is what the price in BC was for the last 5 years. Notice the not double price?

[Cactusflower]

...
- Get rid of consumerism. Products to meet minimum useful life standards.
...

The reality is, we need to use less, and what we buy has to last longer.

x100

Somewhere along the line, everything became a consumable. Much of what we purchase should be considered an investment and treated as such.

Yup. Just as an example, the old GE made in Canada/USA electric kettles would last 20-25 years. The current made in (insert low wage country here) electric kettles are lucky to last 3-4 years, the cheap ones less.

Bought a toaster a little while ago - didn't realize until later that the lever that pushes the toast down is plastic - ya right, like that is going to last![/quote]

If you didn't watch Marketplace on CBC last night, you can download it today. There's a very good example of consumerism run amok, and why globalization is going to ruin our planet. Used to be our toasters were made in Canada. I had my very first toaster for 35 years. I would probably still be using it if my son hadn't bought me a new one. I gave my old one to the local thrift shop because it was still working. Now almost all of our appliances are made overseas......cheap, throw-away crap. We have to stop this foolish wasteful behaviour.

That CBC program last night should make those who see themselves doing such stupid things feel ashamed of themselves. I haven't bought a new piece of clothing (except for underwear) for years. The 'Value Village Boutique' and other thrift stores have everything I need. Most of the clothes I buy look like they've never even been worn.