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Originally Posted by xepherys
On the contrary, big...
a) If we just discovered more "friendly" materials to throw away or burn, we still have to use finite resources to keep making them over and over again. That's like saying alt. fuel vehicles are useless, just make engines that burn less petro. Well, that's great for now... but we still use it faster than dinosaurs turn into oil.
b) Recycling metals (steel, aluminum, copper) are almost a requirements... these are also very finite in their quantity.
c) Recycling other products, especially plastics and paper, cut down a lot. The small cost out of pocket is worth it in the long run. I'd be willing for federal income tax (which is useless anyways) to go up 0.25% so that they recycled everything that they could. *shrug* Why not?
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a) In regards to alternative fuel vehicles being useless, I believe that for the most part, the alternative fuel vehicles that are being touted are pretty much useless in terms of saving the environment. Hydrogen fuel cells seem to me to be on the forefront of the alternative fuel vehicles and they're just not the answer. The hydrogen fuel cell is just a storage tank, in order for the hydrogen to get there energy must be expended.
b) Recycling metals is profitable and done all the time.
c) I think we could make better use of resources by looking for alternatives to what we're currently doing. Using hemp for paper would be a step in the right direction. It's also my understanding that a lot of plastics are just not recyclable.
Regardless, I'm very interested in any research that's been done in this area. I'm all for bettering the environment, but I'm not totally convinced that sorting my trash into seperate little piles will do a whole lot of good.