[RANT] Monday (April 22nd) is earth day

[bbwlover]

The push to end plastics is getting annoying. We seem to be regressing form having throw away plastic straws, utensils, knives and forks, shopping bags....... How is this progress.

[XpressPete]

Another arbitrary day who cares

[TheButcher]

The straws piss me off they get soft and soggy after a bit in the drink.

[trafficseller]

Monday I have to take my V8 Hemi truck go cut down a tree, start a fire, cook some burgers, eat in my plastic plate so i do not have to wash it, throw the plate in the trash bin and drink some cola out of the plastic cups I will get.

[sarettah]

I grew up in the 1950s, 1960's and 1970s. I was 15 years old in 1970 when the first Earth Day was held. Yes, I am old as fuck, live with it.

I lived on Long Island in New York, about 45 minutes from New York City, so we visited Manhattan quite often. The air was terrible. The city was always covered in smog. On a smoggy day, you can't see forever

Air Pollution New York City 1966


Air Pollution New York City 1973


Air pollution Los Angeles 1967



I was also an avid surfer and skier, so I was out in the water and up in the mountains a lot.

I saw ocean pollution up close and personal. It was a very real thing. I remember quite clearly when the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught on fire in 1969.

The water pollution caused by factories was immense, any rivers and lakes near a major city were polluted to the point it was not safe to swim or eat fish from the lakes.

Many of the rivers like the Cuyahoga, the Detroit River and the Niagara River looked horrible and smelled horrible.

In 1973 I started school in a college that was right next to Lake Erie. I got to see personally how bad Lake Eris was. Pictures really do it no justice. There was raw sewage flowing freely into the lake. There were factories all along the rivers leading into Erie and they were freely dumping all their leftover shit into the rivers which led eventually into the Great Lakes. By the time I got there you didn't dare to swim or fish in the lake, it was truly horrible.

East Chicago 1968


Lake Erie 1968


Lake Erie 1971


Lake Superior 1968


Raw sewage pouring into the Niagara River 1968



The Cuyahoga River has caught fire a total of 13 times dating back to 1868. But the fire in 1969 led to the first Earth Day and helped spur action that ultimately led to the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972.

Cuyahoga River 1967


Cuyahoga River 1969


Cuyahoga River 1973


The first earth day in 1970 was created mainly by college students in an attempt to draw attention to what "we the people" were doing to our environment. It was a very successful movement in a lot of ways. The pressure that the environmental movement put on the Nixon administration along with several environmental catastrophes helped to get the 1972 Clean water act amendments passed. I say amendments because there was already a pollution law in place, the "Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948, but it was pretty weak and was not helping to keep our water clean. The amendments made the law much stronger, and it was renamed the Clean Water Act of 1972.

First Earth Day 1970


The Clean Water act 1972 amendments
https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/hi ... -water-act

he Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the first major U.S. law to address water pollution. Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to sweeping amendments in 1972. As amended in 1972, the law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The 1972 amendments:

Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States.
Gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry.
Maintained existing requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters.
Made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions.
Funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program.
Recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution.

It took a while but the Clean Water Act along with major actions by the U.S. government to clean up the rivers and lakes was very successful. Many of you were not alive during that period and have only seen the air, rivers and lakes after they had been cleaned up. The first Earth Day and subsequent Earth Days have helped keep attention on the environment and the many risks that are caused by man and greed.

Cuyahoga River 2016


Now we are facing different risks, among them plastic pollution. Plastic pollution is a global issue. Countries that don't use much plastic (very few) have to deal with the plastics that other countries produce. Plastic does not break down like other natural materials such as rubber does. Plastics were invented to be around forever; they are not bio-degradable so the time for a plastic to decompose is literally somewhere around 1000 years. Plastics are very convenient but the plastic you toss into the trash today will still be around when your children's children's children's children's children's children's children's children's children's children's ........ are alive.

It is imperative, if you like to live and have good health for us to start getting plastics out of the environment. The first step of that is to stop using them. There are new alternatives made out of biodegradables like corn starch that can take their place. We just have to have the will to demand that it happens.

Currently plastics are everywhere, from the top of Mount Everest to the deepest parts of our oceans. Microplastics have made their way into our food supply and our water supply, this can cause major health issues.

You may think that the U.S. is not the cause of plastics washing up on the beaches in the Philippines but if you look closely at plastic piles you will find lots of Coca Cola, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Gatorade, etc. All companies based in the U.S.

Plastic Pollution


Plastic Pollution


Plastic Pollution


Plastic in the ocean


Plastic in the ocean


Sea Turtle with plastic


Plastic in a whale


Plastic on the beach


Plastic Pollution California



So, sorry that you have soggy straws. Would you rather have your children's children dying because of the plastic they ingest?

And you can take your V8 Hemi truck to go cut down a tree, start a fire, cook some burgers, eat in your plastic plate so you do not have to wash it, throw the plate in the trash bin and drink some cola out of the plastic cups, but that is extremely selfish and does nothing but add to the pollution, both air and land that generations from now will have to deal with.

Earth Day is simply a reminder that we are, every person on Earth, part of the problem and unless we take action we will manage to kill the earth off.

I hope you all have a happy Earth Day, no matter how much it pisses your selfish, arrogant, asses off.

[LuKenGas]

Here I am imagining you a 25 year old Sarettah

[tacnet]

Im in my 50s and in my lifetime, the earths population has more than DOUBLED from 3.4 billion to over 8 billion. What's that going to be in a few generations time ??? My grandkids will be growing up in a world of over 20 BILLION people

Sarettah is absolutely right. If we dont start living sustainably then we are simply throwing away our children's future and for what ??? Because we dont like using paper straws and want to drive round in our V8 Hemi trucks ??? Try explaining that to your children or grandchildren

If you think that climate change / pollution is just some woke issue made up by the radical left then you are as ignorant as you are stupid

[TheButcher]

Here I am imagining you a 25 year old Sarettah

First met Sarettah 20 years ago so I know he is not 25 years old. Going back to when I started in this game a lot of the guys have now hit 50 plus.

[TheButcher]

Im in my 50s and in my lifetime, the earths population has more than DOUBLED from 3.4 billion to over 8 billion. What's that going to be in a few generations time ??? My grandkids will be growing up in a world of over 20 BILLION people

Sarettah is absolutely right. If we dont start living sustainably then we are simply throwing away our children's future and for what ??? Because we dont like using paper straws and want to drive round in our V8 Hemi trucks ??? Try explaining that to your children or grandchildren

If you think that climate change / pollution is just some woke issue made up by the radical left then you are as ignorant as you are stupid

Yes sir when I was a child I heard the world population was 3.3 billion, the exponential rate of growth is scary.

[sarettah]

[sarettah]

First met Sarettah 20 years ago so I know he is not 25 years old. Going back to when I started in this game a lot of the guys have now hit 50 plus.

I think they were saying they were imagining me as a 25 year old. Yes, I am way older than that, if you read the post you can figure out how old I am within a year.

But here's some proofs for you anyway. These are actual photographs.

Me as a child.



Me at 25 years old.



Me now.



Hope that clears up any misunderstanding

[TheButcher]

First met Sarettah 20 years ago so I know he is not 25 years old. Going back to when I started in this game a lot of the guys have now hit 50 plus.

I think they were saying they were imagining me as a 25 year old. Yes, I am way older than that, if you read the post you can figure out how old I am within a year.

But here's some proofs for you anyway. These are actual photographs.

Me as a child.



Me at 25 years old.



Me now.



Hope that clears up any misunderstanding

Nice graphical representation over time boss.

[sarettah]

Bump to the top for Earth Day.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

[jag]

Enjoy your Earth day Monday sponsorchaters

[TheButcher]

Good Monday morning everyone.