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xtruss · 1 year ago

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Prescription drugs accumulate in a box at the Back Cove Trail parking lot in Portland, Maine, during a take-back event. Photograph By Ben McCanna, Portland Portland Press Herald/Getty Images

How You Should Dispose of Unused or Expired Medications

Flushing or throwing away leftover drugs can contaminate waterways, threatening people and wildlife. Here are some safer solutions.

— By Priyanka Runwal | Published July 22, 2022 | Sunday August 6, 2023

If you have a stash of unwanted, unused, or expired medicines in a cabinet or drawer somewhere in your home and you don’t know the best way to get rid of them, you’re not alone.

A 2021 survey conducted on behalf of Covanta, a New Jersey-based waste management company, found that 53 percent of the 2,000 Americans polled had no idea what to do with their old medications. Pill hoarding is a common outcome, and many people eventually toss these drugs into household trash or flush them down the toilet or sink—none of which may be a good idea.

Unused or expired medicines lying around at home can get into the wrong hands, leading to accidental poisoning or drug overdose. One study found that between 2000 and 2015, U.S. Poison Control Centers received roughly 32 calls a day about children accidently ingesting opioids that had either been stored or disposed of incorrectly.

When drugs are flushed or sent to landfill, the pharmaceuticals can contaminate our groundwater, lakes, rivers, and streams, threatening human and aquatic life, although our urine and feces that contain remnants of consumed medication are bigger sources of pollution. Wastewater treatment plants aren’t designed to remove these pharmaceuticals, Tim Carroll, a spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, says in an email. “EPA’s first message to everyone is do NOT put leftover, unused drugs down the drain.”

So how does one dispose of unneeded over-the-counter and prescription medications accumulating in our homes? There are a few options.

Drug Take-back Programs

In an effort to find a solution to drugs languishing in medicine cabinets or lurking in waterways, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration launched its first National Take-Back Day in September 2010. More than 4,000 sites across 50 states collected nearly 250,000 pounds of pharmaceuticals that people returned. Since then, DEA has hosted this single-day event biannually; in April this year, more than 5,000 sites collected about 721,000 pounds of pharmaceuticals.

People can also use mail-back envelopes or drop off their unwanted medications year-round at DEA-registered collection kiosks in police stations, pharmacies, community health centers, and hospitals. These returned drugs are then sent to medical waste incinerators.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Soldiers from the New Jersey National Guard's Counter Drug Task Force dumped prescription drugs to be incinerated at the Covanta Essex Resource Recovery Facility during Operation Take Back New Jersey in Newark, N.J., Oct. 31, 2017. Operation Take Back New Jersey is a DEA program that provides a safe and legal method for the citizens of New Jersey to dispose their unwanted, unused, and expired medicines. The New Jersey National Guard assisted with the collection and disposal of the medications. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Matt Hecht) Photograph By Master Sgt. Matt Hecht, AB Forces News Collection/Alamy Stock Photo

In 2021 Stericycle, the largest medical waste incinerator company in the U.S., burned 40 million pounds of unused and expired pharmaceuticals, says Jim Anderson, the company’s vice president for product management and innovation. Incineration produces an inert ash that’s sent to landfills. However, one downside of this disposal method is that transporting and burning such waste and its packaging can release greenhouse gas emissions that can be potentially greater than those generated if the drugs were dumped in landfill, according to one study estimate.

But take-back programs are preferred as they reduce the risk of drug misuse and the incineration “effectively eliminates the entrance of these pharmaceuticals into our nation’s waters,” Carroll says.

However, Steve Skerlos, a mechanical, civil, and environmental engineer at the University of Michigan argues that take-back programs could still result in medicines piling up in homes—a problem such programs were designed to address in the first place. “The question is, if I have extra, unused medication, am I going to leave my house in the next day, or week, even a month, to return that,” he says, especially in rural settings where take-back sites may not be as easily accessible. “A reasonable person may consider landfill to get it out of the house fast.”

In such cases, the DEA suggests mixing medicinal tablets and capsules with undesirable substances like coffee grounds or kitty litter and tossing the mixture into the trash inside a sealed bag or container. (Don’t crush the drugs though.)

And while the EPA advises against flushing pharmaceuticals down the drain, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration maintains a list of limited medications that have the potential to be misused or result in death if taken inappropriately and so can be flushed when safer disposal alternatives are lacking.

Pharmacies also sell drug destroyers such as DisposeRx that can work with pills, tablets, capsules, liquids, and powders. “It’s about the size of a packet of sugar,” says Thomas Menighan, former CEO of the American Pharmacists Association. “You open it, put it in a bottle of unused opioids, or any medicine, for example, you pour a little water in and shake it up, it turns into a white slurry,” which can then be tossed into the trash.

But it’s unclear if these products permanently bind or inactivate the medicinal compounds so that they don’t end up in the landfill liquid, which is released into wastewater treatment plants, and can eventually contaminate our waterways.

Recycling Pharmaceuticals

Perhaps surprisingly, not all unused medications need to be thrown away.

Every year five billion dollars’ worth of unexpired medicine ends up being discarded in the U.S. That could happen because a patient dies, their condition improves and they no longer need their prescribed medication, there’s a dose change, or they experience side effects and are put on new drugs. In such cases these unexpired medications—worth an estimated $700 million—can be recycled.

“We’re wasting a lot of medication which is already paid for,” says Anandi Law, a patient engagement specialist at the Western University of Health Sciences in California. “We could have somebody else who needs it have it.”

Millions of U.S. adults skip or delay getting their prescriptions filled due to high costs. Hence, at least 40 states have passed legislation to establish medication repository programs that allow pharmacies, drug manufactures, medical and long-term care facilities, and sometimes individuals to donate their unused drugs in original sealed containers or tamper-evident packaging.

A licensed pharmacist then inspects the donated medication to check the expiry date and look for signs of tampering, misbranding, or any indication that the drug could be compromised. Once approved, the drugs can be dispensed to uninsured or underinsured individuals via state-approved pharmacies, hospitals, charitable clinics, or community health centers.

Since its inception in 2007, Iowa’s drug donation program, SafeNetRx, has served more than 117,000 patients and redistributed nearly $54-million worth of medication and supplies. Georgia’s program formally launched in 2018, and it has already filled prescriptions worth over $50 million.

“Even though over 40 states have these drug donation laws, a lot of people don’t know that they exist,” says Kiah Williams, co-founder of SIRUM, a nonprofit organization that works with pharmacies and health facilities across the country to assist with drug donation.

Donating unused medications or using take-back programs are voluntary for households, but experts hope more people will use these options instead of disposing of their leftover drugs in the trash or down the drain, which tends to be more convenient.

“All of these efforts are still relatively new,” Carroll says. “We expect we have a long way to go until households change their habits.”

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worldecoideas · 2 years ago

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We are all aware that the world is gradually getting more digital. Technology is changing at a rate that has never been seen before, and more and more people depend on electronic devices to do their daily tasks. Despite the fact that this trend has made our lives easier in numerous ways, it has also created a new issue: e-waste. E-waste is made when electronic gadgets are thrown away, and it is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. In this blog post, we'll talk about the health and environmental risks of e-waste, as well as the financial costs and safe and responsible ways to get rid of it. In addition, we will address some techniques for decreasing e-waste and the need to raise awareness on this issue. Introducing electronic trash E-waste, also called "electronic garbage," is the trash made when electronic items like computers, laptops, tablets, and cell phones are thrown away. The United Nations estimates that 50 million tons of electronic garbage are produced annually. E-waste is bad because it contains toxic chemicals that are bad for both people and the environment. When electronic waste is thrown away in the wrong way, it can get into the land and water and make them dirty. This can have detrimental effects on the health of both humans and animals. What are the risks involved with electronic waste? E-waste may contain many dangerous chemicals that are bad for the environment and for people's health. These materials may contain heavy metals like lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium, as well as other harmful substances like brominated flame retardants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and phthalates. But the process of getting the oil out can pollute the air and water, which is bad for the environment and for people's health. Dangers to Health from E-Waste The hazardous substances included in e-waste can have severe health consequences. The most common health problems caused by e-waste are breathing problems, skin irritation, damage to the nervous system, and cancer. Lead, which is found in electronic waste, is a poison that can cause serious health problems. Lead can hurt the nervous system, which can cause birth defects and make it hard for children to learn. Mercury is another toxic substance that can hurt the brain, nervous system, kidneys, and liver. In addition to the health risks that come from the toxic compounds in e-waste, improper disposal of e-waste can also lead to pollution of the air and water, which can have serious health effects. Effects of electronic waste on the environment Because it contains dangerous chemicals, electronic waste is a big problem for the environment. E-waste is a significant environmental issue due to the harmful substances it carries. When electronic waste is improperly discarded, it can end up in landfills, where harmful components can leak into the soil and water, causing environmental damage. Additionally, the extraction of valuable materials from e-waste can contribute to environmental degradation. Toxins can be released into the air when plastics and other materials used in the extraction process are burned. This is bad for the environment and for people's health. Alternatives to electronic trash Given how bad e-waste is for people's health and the environment, it is very important to limit how much of it is made. There are several options for reducing electronic waste. First, it is essential to exercise responsible consumerism and purchase only what is necessary. This will cut e-waste production because fewer goods will need to be discarded. Second, it is essential to seek out products created from recycled materials. This will aid in reducing the demand for new materials and, consequently, the amount of electronic trash produced. Third, it's important to look for products that are long-lasting and easy to fix or improve. This will aid in the reduction of e-waste by reducing the number of products that must be disposed of.

Finally, it is essential to guarantee that electronic trash is correctly disposed of. This could mean giving away or recycling old electronics and getting rid of dangerous materials in the right way. Financial Consequences of E-Waste E-waste can have significant financial consequences for both individuals and organizations. When companies throw away electronic waste the wrong way, they can get fined a lot of money and hurt their reputation. Also, e-waste can make costs go up by making it necessary to buy new materials and equipment. For people, e-waste can make prices go up because they have to buy new things and get rid of their old ones in a safe and responsible way. In addition, incorrect e-waste disposal can result in significant fines and other penalties. How to dispose of electronic garbage wisely and safely To avoid the health and environmental problems that come with improper disposal, it is important to throw away e-waste in a responsible way. There are several ways to accomplish this. The first is donating or recycling electronic garbage. Numerous organizations and businesses accept e-waste donations for reuse or recycling. This is a great way to make sure the resources are used and don't end up in landfills. The alternative is to employ a professional waste disposal service. This is an excellent choice for enterprises and individuals who generate large quantities of electronic garbage. The disposal service will ensure the safe and responsible disposal of electronic trash. The third alternative is the proper disposal of dangerous items. This consists of substances like lead, mercury, and cadmium. Instead of regular landfills, these materials should be disposed of in a hazardous waste facility. Tips for decreasing electronic trash You can limit the amount of electronic waste you make by taking a few easy measures. First, it is essential to exercise responsible consumerism and purchase only what is necessary. This will cut e-waste production because fewer goods will need to be discarded. Second, it is essential to seek out products created from recycled materials. This will aid in reducing the demand for new materials and, consequently, the amount of electronic trash produced. Third, it's important to look for products that are long-lasting and easy to fix or improve. This will aid in the reduction of e-waste by reducing the number of products that must be disposed of. Fourth, whenever possible, it is essential to donate or recycle electronic waste. This will ensure that the materials are not sent to landfills but are instead put to good use. Finally, it is essential to guarantee that electronic trash is correctly disposed of. This includes putting dangerous waste in a hazardous waste facility instead of a regular landfill. The significance of e-waste consciousness As the issue of e-waste becomes more important, it is important to spread the word about how dangerous it can be and how to get rid of it in a safe and responsible way. It is very important to teach people about the health and environmental risks of e-waste as well as the financial costs of improper disposal. It is also important to teach people about the importance of responsible consumption and the need to limit the amount of e-waste that is made. Lastly, it is essential to raise awareness regarding the proper disposal of electronic trash. This involves donating or recycling electronic waste and disposing of dangerous materials properly. Conclusion E-waste is becoming a bigger problem around the world, so it's important to know what risks it poses. The hazardous substances included in e-waste can have severe health and environmental consequences. In addition, incorrect e-waste disposal can result in significant fines and other penalties. The most effective method for reducing e-waste is to practice responsible consumerism and buy only what is necessary. Also, it's important to look for products that are made of materials that can be recycled and are built to last.

Lastly, it's important to get the word out about how to safely and responsibly get rid of electronic waste and how important it is to do so. By taking these steps, we can all help cut down on electronic waste and keep our health and the environment safe.

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evolutionsvoid · 4 years ago

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When we finally slew that great leviathan, we thought that day was one to be celebrated. Such a moment would go down in history, and people would be telling the tale to their children and grandchildren for years to come. It took only a month or two before we realized that such a time would be seen as a regret rather than a victory. The failed demolition of the corpse and the resulting worm swarm should have been our first clue, but we were still blinded by our successes. Surely that was an inconvenience and not an omen of things to come, right? When Bitoso reared its many heads and began to terrorize our cities, we finally had to accept reality. The great titan that we defeated was not just a colossal beast, it was an entire ecosystem. A creature of that impossible size would be the perfect home for many critters and parasites, with plenty of resources to be had both inside and out. When we killed the leviathan, we destroyed the food and shelter for countless of organisms, and they were forced to relocate. Since its massive corpse was laying on top of a city, the fleeing denizens found refuge in our own homes, and then the problems started. Bitoso was the first one to reveal itself to the world, and we had hoped it was the only survive of that exodus. Sadly, this was not the case. Not long after Bitoso burst from the sewers and slithered through the streets, another terror was found. A trail of sinkholes and collapsing tunnels led investigators into the wilds, and then straight into the heart of another unfortunate metropolis. When an entire city block sank into the earth, we knew that normalcy would never return to this world. The giant beast that caused such destruction has only been fully seen a handful of times, as it spends most of its life underground. Regardless, it has earned itself the name: Infradestructor. The title certainly isn't as clever and sophisticated as Bitoso's, but it certainly fits the beast. A creature that size with the ability to burrow through practically anything is an absolute nightmare to building foundations and infrastructure. The many tunnels it carves out are prone to collapsing, causing everything sitting up top to come crumbling down. If the Infradestructor kept to the wilds, than perhaps its wouldn't be so bad. Unfortunately, it has quite a liking to human towns and cities. Scientists believe this may have to do with the creature's origins, as they claim this horrid monster was a type of parasitic skin mite. It would have been living in the hide of the leviathan, carving through the epidermis and feeding on the flesh around it. Any witness to the battle can tell you that the titan was in no way thin skinned, it took bunker busters to even break through its armored hide. Thus it can be reasoned that the mite was familiar with a rather hardened and tough stratum, so perhaps it finds our tons of concrete, gravel and asphalt a fitting substitute. Maybe it thinks our cities are just another titan to carve through and feed on, despite the fact it is much bigger than it originally was. Just like Bitoso, it is believed that its escape from the corpse landed it in a nutrient rich slurry of blood, flesh and sewage, causing it to grow astronomically. Who knows, maybe the leviathan's blood is a freaking mutagen... Regardless of how it reached such size, all that matters now is finding a way to destroy the Infradestructor before it topples any more cities. It possesses three pairs of limbs that are coated in powerful claws and spikes, which allow it to shred through any substance. Its whole body is covered in these spines, helping it carve its way through the earth as it digs. To aid in its efforts, its arms and body secrete a powerful digestive enzyme that turns rock and steel into goop. People have seen this powerful fluid in action, mainly when the mite surfaces and engages attackers. As it flails and fights, gobs of the stuff go flying and splatter across buildings and streets. There are plenty of videos out there showing this enzyme eating through solid concrete within seconds, and no one dares mention the footage of when this stuff lands on a person. With its claws and acid, it tears through the earth with ease as it searches for food. It isn't fully confirmed what the Infradestructor eats, but it is believed it is a combination of melted concrete and sewage. It tends to target areas that are dense with sewage lines and waste. Quite a few nearby landfills have suddenly vanished into the earth, possibly serving as a feast for this insatiable monstrosity. Due to its love for cities and towns, it is believed that some material we use for construction is another favorite of the creature. Concrete and cement is the current guess, as it goes after larger buildings as well as bridges. That sadly does not mean that smaller structures and places are safe, as the mite often burrows through them to get to the juicy parts, which means that your house or business is going to get eaten by the resulting sinkhole.

Efforts to kill the Infradestructor have ended in failure, with the best plans only wounding or scaring the beast. Since it spends so long underground, it is hard to target it for an aerial assault. Planes, helicopters and tanks are pretty much useless until it emerges, and getting it to the surface is incredibly difficult. Bunker busters and buried charges have been used to try and kill it, but the ground absorbs too much of the impact and the mite moves ridiculously fast. Even when it is hit, it is very hardy and prefers to hide underground to nurse its wounds. By adding more detonations, it is possible to drive it to the surface, but that can also scare the mite and cause it to panic. While this may be good against other combatants, it isn't when this beast is hiding beneath populated areas. When it gets scared, it tries to throw off its attackers by fleeing in a rather erratic way. It pretty much burrows wildly through the earth, going every which way to try to confuse its opponents. This has the unfortunate effect of undermining the entire area and causing widespread collapses. One operation accidentally caused this frenzy and wound up burying three different towns as the mite went crazy. Even when they flush it to the surface, it isn't an easy beast to take down. The many spines seem indestructible and its flesh is quick to heal. Its claws tear through any armor or vehicle nearby, making a land assault suicidal. Attacking from the air isn't safe either, as the mite has learned an obnoxious tactic. Using its claws, it rips into the ground, scoops up the debris and then launches it into the air. With all limbs flailing and throwing, the creature is capable of spraying plumes of dirt and rock everywhere, clogging the airspace. A stone the size of a fist doesn't seem like much, but it is a huge problem to a copter or jet. Then factor in a couple thousand of them as they are launched into the sky, only to come raining back down. At this point, it is best to keep your distance and attack from super long range. However, if pressure is not kept on the Infradestructor, then it will burrow back into the ground and escape. Nothing angers the military more than sacrificing countless of lives, resources and weapons just to have the target grow bored and leave. With all this devastation and destruction, the new plan is to nuke the creature when it emerges. Hopefully the strength of an atomic bomb can finish it off once and for all, but that can only happen if it is on the surface. Unfortunately, the Infradestructor is learning and adapting, and it is getting harder and harder to drive it upward. It knows our tactics and it is growing bolder. Scaring it from its burrow may no longer be an option. The other issue people bring up is what will happen to the creature or corpse once we irradiate it? If we fail to kill it with this one strike, will it only grow stronger? And what if it does die? We have killed a titan like this before, and see what misery came from that. Who knows what is dwelling inside these beasts, ready to escape and continue its legacy of terror? ---------------------------------------------------- Kaijune is winding down, but we aren't done yet! Giant parasites! Bitoso has company!

#mite #scabies #monster #creature #kaiju #kaijune #kaijune2020 #art #drawing

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earaercircular · 3 years ago

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Is recycling a waste? Here’s the answer from a plastics expert before you ditch the effort

KEY POINTS

· TerraCycle and Loop founder and CEO Tom Szaky says the economics of the recycling business are broken in key ways, but consumer and corporate interest in building a circular economy continues to grow.

· Low oil prices, bans on imported recyclables in countries like China, and the latest trends in packaging design make it harder to recycle.

· Still, the recycling CEO says getting to a low-waste or even zero-waste economy is the way the world once was and can be again.

Recycling may make you feel better in a very small way about your role in helping to avert a global apocalypse, but even in “friendly” places, from John Oliver to NPR podcasts, recycling, especially of plastics, is being given a hard look. More people are wondering: Does it work?

The debate is not new. For years the economics of plastic recycling have been questioned. But the problem is not going away. The globe is already producing two trillion pounds of solid waste a year and is on pace to add more than a trillion more on an annual basis in the coming decades, according to World Bank data. A recent study found that the 20 top petrochemical companies in the world, among the group Exxon Mobil and Dow, are responsible for 55% of the world’s single-use plastic waste, and in the U.S., specifically, we are generating about 50 kilograms of throwaway plastic a year, per person.

The Covid pandemic has heightened attention to the issue, as use of disposable goods went up anywhere from 30% to 50%, according to Tom Szaky, CEO of recycling company TerraCycle and reuse platform Loop, who joined CNBC’s Leslie Picker on a recent CNBC Evolve Livestream about sustainability and business. He says concerns about the macroeconomics of waste management systems suffering economically are real, and there are ways to solve it that don’t just rely on government. We all need to take a deeper look at how we recycle beyond the feel-good blue bin, and what we can do to get past the problems.

1. The economics of recycling are broken.

Szaky says recent reporting on the economic issues for plastics recycling and restrictions around the world on imported recyclables, which are both weighing on the sector, are not an anti-environmental attack but “absolutely rooted in facts.”

He says it is important for consumers to understand that just because you recycle an item does not mean it will be recycled in the end.

“What makes something be recycled in a country doesn’t have to do with what we normally think: Can it be recycled? Most of the things we put in blue bins that are not recycled are put in the garbage because they are things waste companies can’t make money off, and that is the true bottleneck,” he said.

The right question is “Can a garbage company, the actual company in charge of the recycling in the geography, recycle it at a profit?”

According to Szaky, what’s happened is a profitability model that is decreasing as oil prices have gone down, which started in 2015, and even after a commodities market recovery post-Covid, have stayed down relative to recent history. The petrochemicals companies that make plastics rely less on recyclables when the price of their core commodity, oil, is lower. Second, China stopped importing recyclable waste, a move followed by other countries in 2018.

Both issues are critically important to the business model of recycling and the health of the infrastructure because they circle back around to how much demand there is to collect those material types.

“And it all hurt the business construct for recycling companies and that means our recycling capabilities are deteriorating,” Szaky said. “Recycling is not out there trying to do the best it can but maximize profit and we need to think about that as we aim for a more circular economy,” he said.

2. A packaging industry mega trend is working against recycling

The biggest global trend in packaging is not helping. Efforts to reduce costs in products and packaging are “objectively reducing value” Szaky said, “which also makes them less recyclable.”

The “lightweighting” of packages, making them have less physical material and more complexity as a result of that design challenge, makes them less profitable to recycle.

All of these economic issues lead to a situation in which what people would like to see is not what they would actually see if they went behind the scenes in the recycling industry. But Szaky says at the same time, consumers want to recycle more, and more companies are leaning into their own recycling.

What companies decide to do about recycling on their own initiative — and pay for — can be done in spite of the challenging economics and can still pay off for the companies in the future. That’s the TerraCycle business model, working with companies to fund their own voluntary recycling efforts. And that is more important at a time when the economics of consumer recycling are a mess.

3. Why companies don’t recycle enough, but should more

Szaky says what’s really important right now is companies deciding to lean in and create their own recycling programs. But he says it is still not easy for the corporate mindset to embrace.

“As a retailer or brand, if you just frame it as ‘the right thing to do’ the funding will be small and sporadic because there is no P&L logic to do it. But if you can use it to drive foot traffic like Walmart with car seats or Staples with pens, it can be monetizable,” he said.

Brands that run their own recycling programs should be doing it as part of a plan to drive more market share and brand preference. And he says it becomes “monetizable in a recognizable way” the bigger they become and the faster they can grow. “That is true for any sustainability measure a company is looking to implement in the short term.”

Some products won’t be recycled unless companies are the recycler.

A dirty diaper or toothbrush or cigarette is not recyclable because it costs too much. It is another economic problem, not a physics or chemistry one.

TerraCycle recently launched a diaper recycling program in Holland and now it is expanding to many countries.

“Diaper recycling doesn’t make sense from an economic perspective. It is expensive to collect and process,” Szaky said. But for the company that leads, “it can drive core value maybe better than TV ads,” he added.

Consumers want to do the right thing, and companies may want to do the right thing as well in acknowledging an environmental crisis — and fund a feel-good marketing campaign — but Szaky stressed that they need to see “not just the right thing, but that it will pay back.”

Szaky’s business recently teamed with a luxury watchmaker on the world’s tallest landfill: Mt. Everest. The mountain is littered with oxygen tanks from previous climbs and the watchmaker was able to both clean up the mess, an expensive undertaking, and source metal for its watches, which may add to the story it sells consumers in a way competitors can’t match.

4. The real solution is obvious: Consuming less

The white elephant, the fundamental answer to the challenge, is modulating consumption downward, but Szaky says that is a hard one for the business world to champion. “It is fundamentally de-growth.”

Even working with companies to create products from recyclables and where the recycling is part of the product story and selling point, “is not the answer to the garbage problem,” he says.

It may be among the best ways to manage waste in a circular economy, but Szaky says we will need to aim to go back to a world where garbage doesn’t exist.

“Before the 1950s, we received milk from the milkman and mended clothes and cobbled shoes,” he says.

Reuse does still exist at scale today in certain markets, such as beer kegs and propane tanks, but not nearly enough, and without the convenience of an infrastructure which makes return easy and widespread. That is one of the keys he sees for the future.

5. Reusable versus recyclable

While the goal of zero waste is ambitious, it is realistic to imagine a world in which more consumer products become reusable, if they can be easily returned in the circular economy.

Reusable versions of products from Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Kroger, Walgreens, and hundreds of other retailers are being, or will in the future, be made available to consumers.

Szaky envisions the buy-and-return-anywhere model as a key one for the future.

“Buy your favorite shampoo bottle in a reusable form at a Walgreens in New York and drop it off at Burger King and buy an Impossible Whopper in reusable packaging too, and drop that off somewhere else.”

This model can help solve a big problem: consumer behavior. Szaky says while there is a significant consumer market motivated by environmental concerns and consumption, for the recycling industry to really work it needs to avoid relying on the most-motivated consumers. Even plastic recycling that is economic today, such as soda bottles, only results in 1 in 4 bottles being recycled. The No. 1 goal for most consumers will remain convenience and value.

A reusable package is an upgrade over a disposable package in an objective way, and with the convenience of drop-off locations it can lead to an easier shift in behavior, but it has to be offered at the right value to consumers. “With all three things coming together we can switch a consumer who maybe doesn’t even care about sustainability and that’s frankly the most important,” Szaky said. “We need to bring everyone along, not just people who view this as a high-passion project.”

6. Economics are busted but the recycling mindset matters

For all the debate over recycling and the hard facts about its economics, Szaky says there is a reason we talk about it so much.

The individual journey with sustainability always begins with recycling. And that remains key and a reason to figure out how to fix its short-term and long-term challenges.

When people start recycling, it does open the pathways to a broader change in mindset.

“It may lead to a plant-based diet instead of animal protein, or a smaller life, or biking ... creating even more important outcomes,” he says. “But first we have to solve the business problem.”

Source

Eric Rosenbaum : Is recycling a waste? Here’s the answer from a plastics expert before you ditch the effort, in: CNBC,22-05-2021 https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/22/is-recycling-a-waste-heres-the-answer-from-a-plastics-expert.html

#circular economy #recycling plastics

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fandom-necromancer · 4 years ago

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… Is another man’s treasure

Now to the second part for a wonderful anon! Enjoy the Feels!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900

Nines had worked hard to gain confidence in himself. All his time in New Jericho he had worked for the other people there. He didn’t spend that long at the sanctuary to accommodate to his freedom. Without a life in slavery, or at least not one he had been allowed to remember, freedom wasn’t that difficult of a concept and not that overwhelming of a treasure to him. No, he had needed time to understand what Markus had meant when he said no one was without purpose and even more to build a fragile confidence. He still doubted it sometimes. There were days when he came back from work to sit in an empty room and felt lost. When he wasn’t working, what was the point of it all? If he was just killing time, then why had he ever left the landfill where he belonged? So far, he had managed to shake the feeling off by making the small flat his home. Plants that needed him for water, furniture that needed him to stay clean. They were small things, but it helped remind him in times he felt lost that if anything, they needed him. And then the next step was thinking of the next day, when he had to head back to work with the Detective…

They got along… kind of. On good days, they stayed professional, except for the occasional curse or a discussion getting louder than strictly needed. On bad days, Nines had to try hard to contain his urge to throw something heavy at the man. They didn’t particularly liked each other for the first weeks. The Detective had still hoped he could bully him away and Nines had still hoped for someone else to scold the man. Neither did happen, so they ended up begrudgingly compromising. It still wasn’t a companionship of the kind where you would agree to meet with a co-worker after work, but they didn’t hate each other outright. At least they liked each other enough to realise they actually were a very productive team with abilities that complemented themselves. A few close calls on the job, a few examples of trusting the other and lately a huge competitive ambition towards their cases as Gavin had found out they were close behind on Connor and Hank’s closed ones, had worked wonders and Nines hoped to think that they finally made it to friends. A friendlier tone from the human and accepted shipments of coffee to his desk seemed to finally prove it and Nines was happier than he would ever thought he could be.

A friend. They hadn’t called each other that yet, but Gavin didn’t seem to be a fan of labels anyways. Still, a friend. It made his insecurities take a step back and for the first time, he thought about his decision to leave the landfill as a good one to make. He wasn’t sure yet, but he was more willing to give this new life a try and not doubt any move he made with these poisonous words in mind.

You are obsolete. You aren’t needed. You are a danger and have to be disposed of.

With every day these words were shoved further back, but Nines would never forget them. His new experiences overshadowed the few memories he was allowed to keep, but these words lingered and only waited for an opportunity to rise again. Nines hoped that when that happened, he would have someone to look out for him. To help him realise they were memories of a life he was about to leave behind completely.

Right now though he had bigger things to worry about:

‘Detective, you are speeding.’ No answer. ‘Detective, not only is this a violation of the laws you are to protect, it is also a huge safety hazard as human reaction time is-‘ ‘Shut the phck up, tin-can.’ Nines had very early decided that he disliked three major things about the human: His smoking habit, him calling him names and him interrupting him at near any given occasion. ‘I just wanted to point out that-‘ ‘And I don’t give a damn!’ Four things. ‘Gavin, I get that you are frustrated, but how will speeding through the city help us in any way?’

The man gripped the steering wheel hard enough the leather was creaking. ‘I am frustrated, yes. And an android like you should know to leave me alone in such situations.’ He looked pointedly at him and turned into the DPD’s parking lot with far too much momentum. The Detective made a show of bringing the car to a halt abruptly, opened the door and slammed it behind himself. Nines’ LED flashed red for a moment, then followed the human, easily catching up to him with his long legs. He rushed past him to stop Gavin by pressing a hand against his chest and stepping back before the Detective could get violent. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’, he hissed, having understood the threat and not taking it. ‘I mean’, Gavin pushed back unrelenting. ‘that you are supposed to be the big bad robot that always knows how to handle a situation.’ ‘How do I get the impression you refer to more than me telling you to slow down?’ Nines knew that giving in just to avoid confrontation would never change Gavin letting his anger out on the people around him. This time he wouldn’t back down. ‘Hmm, figured that out all by yourself, did you?’, the human mocked. ‘What do you want? An A+ for phcking up an entire mission?’ Nines was honestly surprised. ‘You are blaming me for this? You are blaming me that our suspect fled the scene, our witness is dead, and the crime-scene left us with nothing because it was tempered with? You can’t be serious!’ ‘I can’t? Tell me one reason why.’ ‘Because if anyone of us is at fault at all in this, then we both are!’ ‘And that’s where you are wrong’, Gavin whispered low and dangerously enough for Nines to regret not having given in and taking the blame until the human had calmed down enough. He stepped closer, pulling at the android’s jacket to get him down on his level. ‘I am human’, he hissed in his face, near enough so Nines could feel the movement of air. ‘I make mistakes and I cannot process everything at once. But you! Aren’t you supposed to be the most advanced robot ever?’ ‘I am the superior model to the RK800, yes, but that’s no guaranty-‘ ‘Oh yeah?’, Gavin interrupted him again, letting go of his lapels and stepping back. He grinned evilly, spreading his arms to his sides. ‘So that’s why you ended up in a phcking dumpster?’

Nines went completely rigid, staring at the human as if he had physically hit him. His LED flashed brightly red and his hands were twitching in anger. In ice cold rage. How dared this mere human? How dared he shattering what he had build up just like that? Something inside him pulled the switch and the next moment, Nines had the man by the neck and threw him against the brick wall of the building. ‘You don’t know anything about me!’, he shouted, watching satisfied as Gavin groaned and pulled a grimace. That was only a fraction of the pain he himself felt right now and-

You are a danger.

Nines looked at his hands and the man on the ground. It was incredible how quickly his anger could switch to fear and panic, as the words came crushing down, incredibly red as if they were the walls of his programming that had to be broken. Walls that shouldn’t exist. Or should they?

You are obsolete and should be disposed of.

Nines ran.

‘God… phcking… toaster…’ Gavin cursed as he finally managed to get up. That would most definitely bruise. ‘Damn phcking piece of metal shit… Has one hell of a punch.’ He very well knew he coud have ended worse, if the thing actually wanted to kill him, but he doubted it. ‘Hey, Nines, you okay now? Vented your frustration?’ He looked around the parking lot, but couldn’t find a trace of the bot. ‘Alright’, Gavin sighed. ‘To everyone his own. Leaving me to write the report for this goddamn mess, of course. Like hell one of them sticks around when they are actually needed…’

He went inside, trying not to move his shoulders too much. No one had to know he had been decked by one of the RKs again. He sat down on his desk and started the terminal, pointedly ignoring the curious looks of anyone in the bullpen. He had loaded their case file so far and continued noting the events of the day.

He managed to get the first few paragraphs done until someone stepped up to his desk. ‘What do you want?’, Gavin barked, not looking up from his screen. ‘Where is Nines?’ ‘What’s it to you Connor?’ ‘Gavin.’ The other android pulled his chair towards him, so Gavin had to look at him. Gavin hadn’t forgotten how intimidating puppy-eyes here could get, but to see it again was something completely different to remembering it. ‘Gavin, what did you do? Where is he?’ ‘He went home early’, Gavin snapped at Connor, the lie flowing easily from his lips. ‘The mission went wrong. Probably wants to sleep it over or whatever you androids do instead of drowning yourself in alcohol. Because that’s what I would do!’ ‘And you ever so generously agreed to return to write the report? Sorry, Reed, I don’t believe that.’ ‘Hey, asshole, it’s not like I have a choice! One more misstep Fowler throws me out! And your asshole superior model simply phcked off. Didn’t exactly ask me, just ran off. Now I advise you to do the same unless you have a real good reason to keep me from working!’

Very reluctantly, Connor let him be and Gavin got back to his report. He finished it without further interruptions and looked at the clock before uploading it to the databanks. It was near the end of his shift, maybe he should really just call it quits for today and get a fresh start tomorrow. Maybe use his free time at home figuring out how to apologise to Nines come morning. If he realised once while writing the report, then that really neither of them were at fault. They had been called to the scene first, the witness had been told to wait for them. How could any of them had known someone ready to commit a second murder would come to get rid of any traces of the first, if they were not one and the same person? Gavin and Nines had arrived as the witness had already been killed and the suspect was on the run far out of reach of both police officers. Gavin knew he had been wrong to start a fight with his partner over this, he had been frustrated and the complaints about his driving had just been that last drop to make his anger spill. But he would never admit that to anyone. He would simply apologise tomorrow, and they would get back to work. As they always did.

But what if he had done it again? His anger issues had driven away a lot of people already, maybe the android had finally realised he wasn’t worth it? Maybe tomorrow morning he would be alone again, because the RK900 asked for a rightfully deserved transfer? Maybe-

Gavin sighed, finding himself next to his car ready to drive home. No maybes. He couldn’t risk losing another partner, especially not one who took so much of his shit and made it a challenge. No, he couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning to apologise, he would drive to Nines’ flat and apologise right away.

Only that when he finally stood in front of the door and rang the bell no one answered. He pressed the button again and held it, but still no sign of movement in the flat. That made Gavin get back to something he swore to never, ever do: He called Connor.

‘Hey, dipshit, is Nines with you?’ ‘No, why should he?’ ‘He isn’t home.’ ‘Why are you at his home?’ ‘Because we had a fight and I wanted to apologise, okay?’, Gavin near screamed into his phone. ‘What did you say to him?’ ‘None of your phcking business, plastic!’ There was a sigh on the end of the line. ‘Go to the Solid Waste Landfill’, he then said, sounding reserved. ‘Hey, asshole if you think I’ll wade through shit and dirt just you get a laugh out of it then-‘ ‘Reed! This is the most important thing in your life right now. If you don’t want me to kill you tomorrow morning, you will go there, and you will find Nines! Whatever you said, you can’t imagine how it must have hurt him. You will go there, and you will return with him tomorrow morning or this will be your last day on this planet, am I understood?’ ‘Yes, Jeez’, Gavin near yelped at the sudden threat, ending the call. Why the hell would the damn android return to this hell? Well, it didn’t matter now, Gavin had to drive up there now, if he wanted to see another day. Because he didn’t think Connor was bluffing.

Solid Waste Landfill had simultaneously become better and worse since all the androids had been rescued. For once it didn’t look like some nightmarish landscape with humanoid figures crawling and spasming and killing each other for parts anymore. Instead there was all the more trash and rotting matter to be found. At least one thing was easy know: spotting the only blob of white in the endless hills of rusted metal and dirt. He cursed, before skidding down the hills of trash to climb towards the android that was sitting on the top of one of them. His aching back didn’t help at all.

‘Nines?’, he asked cautiously. Being thrown off this hill would be far worse than against a wall. ‘What are you doing here?’ Gavin hadn’t expected an answer, but he got one: ‘Waiting.’ ‘For what?’ ‘For my battery to run out.’ ‘Oh, okay.’ Wow, what the hell, Gavin had not expected that. ‘May I ask why?’

‘Because they were right. I don’t know their names anymore, but they were right. They were all right. You were right too.’ ‘Hey, Nines, you’re making no sense right now. Why weren’t you home?’ ‘I am home, Gavin, I belong here.’ ‘Bullshit.’ ‘I belong here. I am obsolete, I am dangerous, and no one needs me.’ ‘Who the hell told you that?’ ‘I already said that, I don’t know. My first memories are of these words uttered by someone who I trusted. Maybe a handler, I don’t know anymore. I walked down into this landfill, hid and waited. Markus found me and tried to convince me it wasn’t true. That they lied to me. I wanted to believe him, but well, in the end it was him who was proven wrong.’ ‘Nines’, Gavin muttered, not really understanding what the android was saying but realising he had really phcked up this time throwing the worst thing he knew about someone right in their face whenever he got angry. He decided to walk up to him and sit down on the metal sheet right next to him. ‘Nines, that’s not true. You are none of these things.’ ‘Oh, really?’ The android laughed humourless. ‘How’s your back then? I hurt you, the one I have to protect. I am dangerous. I failed to catch the suspect or anticipate that the murderer would come back to the scene to get rid of the witness. Sounds pretty obsolete to me. And just look at me! An android without a past, without friends or family or memory, who would need that?’

‘I do’, Gavin said. ‘I need my partner and friend back on the job to protect my reckless ass from being shot. I need you because I won’t ever find someone else like you. I need someone who tells me when I am an asshole again and can defend himself from myself.’ Gavin didn’t like speaking his mind and this was no difference. So, he added: ‘Also I need you so Connor won’t kill me tomorrow.’ That made Nines look up to the human next to him. ‘Why would he do that?’ ‘Dunno. Guess he considers you his brother or something. I have no idea how family works with androids, but I’m sure he thinks that way.’ ‘Brother… You… You are not lying to me, are you?’ ‘You tell me, lie detector. Wouldn’t work telling you if you think I lie to you, would it?’ ‘I suppose not’, Nines mumbled. ‘And… The friends part is true, too? We are… friends?’ ‘Of course we are. What did you think we were?’ ‘I don’t know. I don’t know how this works.’ ‘Idiot.’ ‘Says the right person.’ ‘Got me there’, Gavin chuckled. ‘Now what? Will you let me drive you home now?’ ‘I don’t know yet…’ ‘Nines. I know I am an asshole when I’m angry, but let me tell you: You are not obsolete. You are needed. And you are dangerous, fine, but so is Connor, so am I and so is my damn cat when she’s pissed. No one needs any justification to exist or to be happy or to do what they want to do. Whoever told you that is an even bigger sack of shit than I am. You understand? Come on. Let’s get home.’

Gavin was immensely relieved, as the android stood up after him and followed him out of the landfill without a word. Just outside Gavin’s car he stopped, and Gavin turned. ‘Hey, don’t worry, I will heed the speed limit, okay?’ Nines just looked at him, before stepping next to him and pulling him into a strong hug. ‘Thank you, Gavin’, he whispered, and Gavin flushed red in embarrassment. ‘You’re welcome’, he pressed out. ‘But. Watch the back. Ah.’ Immediately Nines let go, face tinged blue. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot about that…’ ‘It’s fine, just…’ ‘yeah…’ ‘Ah, phck it’, Gavin let his defences fall and pulled the android in a second time. No one could see them, and no one would believe them anyways. Why not enjoy it?

#detroit become human #dbh #Reed900 #RK900 #Gavin Reed #Not as fluffy as I wanted it to be but I still like it #poor Nines #Gavin why are you like this you don't just go and tell someone the trigger word when you phcking now it is it #He is such an idiot #But he is soft too

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seriouslyblacklikemysoul · 5 years ago

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An Ephemeral Eternity in Seven Parts - Steve Rogers x Reader

MASTERLIST Warnings: Gifs aren’t mine. My English. Also, last sentence - well, maybe it’s the start of something new. Word Count~ 7k. Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI PART VII

The melancholic notes of the guitar accompanied her soft and broken voice in a song that reminded very much of a lamentation of her past, her present and her future.

Everything she touched, begun to decay. Everyone she loved, had only ended up unloved, depressed, addicted or alone. It had made her wonder if she was the one; if she was the wolf dressed as the little red riding hood. What if everyone around her was simply a helpless sheep and to prowl for her next meal she clothed herself in love and kindness, only to poison those closest to her until they are damaged beyond repair. She could only ever ruin so many relationships before she understood that the devil lived inside of her making her a toxic landfill disguised in fake beautiful grass and flowers - she had never been afraid of the monster in her closet, she had always been terrified by the one she saw in the mirror. She didn't remember which night it was - the one she left, like a thief, not making a sound, knowing that he heard her. It made her decision easier when he didn't even try to stop her. It was selfish - he had been badly broken too. She felt the failure calling out her name - she couldn't make it better for him because she was a mess. She had lost herself and she wasn't sure she wasn't sure she wanted to be found. And so she left. She took a few clothes with her and left. She had no solid plan for her days ahead. She couldn't find a point to it. She had wandered aimlessly when she found herself in a small city that did not speak English. She had smiled painfully to herself. A stranger among strangers.

Not long after her decision to stay there for a while, she had to find a way to earn some money in order to get by. The kind old lady, who had helped her with almost everything, seeing in her face the granddaughter she had lost just mere weeks before she turned up in her door - since she was one of the very few people who spoke English - had offered her a job she thought it would suit her. There was a small place where those who stayed behind went to drink and listen to old and soft songs about loss, love and pain. They were missing a singer. She had thought why not. Isabella had been nothing but kind and sweet, just like a real grandmother - not that she had met one. "Grief is a deeply personal and solitary journey. No one can truly feel or understand your loss but you, even those who have experienced it themselves. But grief is also love, and for that reason it has a right to exist and be felt. It is the debt we owe our memories. It is the final way we love someone" she had soothed her after the first time she heard her sing. There was pain in her voice, even when she sung in Spanish. She had never believed it would cost her everything. Yet, it did.

Months flew by as she had fallen into a simple yet so human routine. Many handsome men had threw themselves to her but she had closed herself, letting no one in. She had lost people along the way. She had left others behind. She had cut them out of her life, sometimes uncertain if it was the right decision. Looking back, she had done things she might have regretted now. This quieter life she had now was closer to the one she had been dreaming the cold nights that she had been held by HYDRA or trained by Madam B. She couldn't sake the feeling that something was missing - she was different and she hadn't ever realized. The girl from her past wasn't the woman she had grown to be. "Hay un hombre guapo buscándote, cariño" Isabella suddenly told her, making her slightly jump from the couch she had been seated for at least two hours, starring at the wall. Seeing her lost eyes, Isabella sat down next to her and took her hands in hers. "Listen, cariño. Love transcends gender, age, political beliefs; it crosses borders. It’s literally the strongest motivator and force we have. It makes people do things they can’t explain. And it comes in all forms and it comes when you least expect it and it comes and it goes and it changes and people have spent years and wrote books and studied the stars trying to understand it. And sometimes it’s the boy you called over to get over, the boy you were crying about and sometimes it’s the girl you grew up next door to your whole life and sometimes it’s a friend who saved your soul or a baby you didn’t expect. But it’s all around us in forms yet to be manifested- letters yet to be written, hands yet to be held. And all goodness stems from it and it literally changes the world. So even though it sometimes causes us pain and it drags us into situations we didn’t ask for, we can never close ourselves off to it or give up on it. We have to keep loving because it’s the closest thing we have to magic and without it we’re just a conscious pile of bones and life means nothing. Ve hacia el" and just like that, from the mouth of someone who used to be a stranger, the entire meaning of life and love and pain was summed up into a minute of hope. Isabella had lost her son and her granddaughter, everyone she ever loved and yet, there she was telling her to embrace life with its bad and its good. Tears she had no idea when they escaped, were running down her face. "Mi bella Isabella, gracias por tu sabiduría. Gracias por tu amor. But if I go to him, I'll leave you and I can't do that to you" she told her truthfully. Isabella just shook her head and smiled. "I'll always be here. Go to him, cariño". She kissed her cheek and hugged her as tightly as she would love to be hugged. She had been everything she was missing.

As the song went on, her eyes fell on him - he had just entered the place. And every memory she kept tacked away, came back rushing through her veins. In her head, she could hear Isabella's words but her heart just didn't want to get hurt again. She knew the moment he talked to her, she would succumb her entire being to his hands.

War was the only dance he had ever known and she wished they could have had more time amid the chaos and fire and blood to show him that there could be another way. She fell in love with the way he saw the world, the way he saw her... She fell in the chasm of his soul and his light. She would gladly drown in the darker half of the sea to hold him in her arms for more than just that single night of peace. She had been aware that they had met and they had loved in a warzone and even though his kisses had melted away the gunfire, they still held echoes of the fire burning in him but she knew hers were the same. He had been worth the risk time and time again because with his hand burning into her skin, she had hope once more ... and the blood that had stained him couldn't take away his goodness and the stars that had betrayed him, didn't mean she forsaken her devotion. There had always been a rage built inside their souls, just like this love was worthy of burning empires down ... screams that follow them all the way home only to be quieted when she kissed the blood from his lips... and even when the universe will force them to part he will remain, echoing in her heart that only belonged to him. She knew that they were the ugly parts of the love story but she also knew they were the beautiful ones too. The song came to an end and she went to the table she held every night, the one far away from the lights and the people. Eyes never leaving his, she nodded for him to join her, as she poured herself a glass of red wine. He had never been so afraid of a moment and its impact. He had no idea what to say to her or how to be around her, when she poured and offered him another glass of wine. "I didn't know you could sing" he told her before he hid his face in his hands, only to resurface as red as a tomato. She tried to swallow her laughter but failed. "You're still not good with women, Steve" and just by saying his name, her heart places itself in his hands. He smiled brightly even though he had messed up his opening line, it had worked out. She was sipping her wine with a fondness he had never seen before. Maybe leaving was the best thing she had done - and he would be selfish to ask her back. Again. Not leaving her alone, to decide her own path. He needed her in a way he hadn't needed anyone since... "I will come back Steve. But I need you to promise me that we will search and search over and over again for a way to undo this -and if we don't find one it will be because there isn't, not because we overlooked it" she told him boldly with her eyes a soft lilac color, as she looked over her shoulder, signaling to someone to approach them He was taken aback. He believed that she wouldn't even want to talk about what had happened. He had seen the way Bucky had looked at her before he... and he had already suspected his feelings towards her. Steve knew it had a great impact on her - not that it had been the only reason for her breakdown. After realizing her new powers she had refused to use them because they were the reason half of the planet was dead. He looked at her with a new found admiration - she was the bigger person. "Of course. May I ask why?" he prepared himself to hear a reason he wouldn't like, instead, his heart broke a little bit more. She smiled and stood up to give her sit to an old woman he had never seen before. It was the first time Steve saw this side of her. "Isabella, este es Steve. Ese hombre guapo que me estaba buscando" she spoke in Spanish making him question if he knew her at all. Isabella took his hands into hers and looked at him just like his mother would have, which caused some tears to appear. They got to know each other and he realized that she had never felt the love of a family - and she craved it. When Isabella said her goodnight, having already invited him to spend the night in her house, she grew quiet. She knew he was waiting for an answer. "She is the reason why. She lost everything - her son, her granddaughter - and yet she hasn't lost hope. She told me to live life with everything that comes with it and embrace it because it's all we got. She is the reason I am talking to you. She told me 'go to him' because love is the closest thing we have to magic and I couldn't just tell her I have magic running through my veins but couldn't save her family" she said with fire in her words and determination pouring over her.

It felt wrong. Being back, felt wrong. She had followed him once again, but this time she hadn't found the people she had last time. She felt out of time – as if she didn’t belong. No one was waiting for her; Natasha was broken and Tony was nowhere near the place. Maybe she had been naïve for trusting him again; deep down she knew the only thing they had been left with was bitterness. She spent her days reading, training and trying out different things. Steve had an unhealthy need to fill Sam’s shoes as he had begun some group session. The irony was obvious to her; He was telling them, urging them to move on while he would never. She had seen as much in his eyes when they were talking about his past and the beginnings of his story – way before he became Captain America. There was one particular story he didn’t feel like sharing and she understood why – but also bothered her. She had kept her promise and had searched everything in order to find a way to undo this. She had spent days and nights looking for an answer. There had been times she felt so useless she wouldn’t get out of her room – nobody dared to disagree with her on those days. Slowly yet steadily, Steve and her grew distant and she felt as if they were miles apart even when they were sitting right next to each other. Being positive had never been one of her assets and that fake optimism Steve had, got on her nerves. Then again, maybe it was just his way of coping with the events. She had found herself longing to leave the base and go back to Isabella’s house more than enough times to realize that she never felt at home in the Avenger’s base. And the years flew by without even noticing it. The only thing new must had been the fact that she met Carol, a woman with many of her own powers and a life experience to match them. Other than that, Natasha had been obsessing over Clint – who had gone dark after his family disappearance. She could never say that all of those people had died – they had just dusted away. Which was the same and she had been fooling herself for a very long time. Steve had been the positive fucking little unicorn in front of others but he was so lost when they were alone. A raccoon was sending them emails with reports and Nebula wanted to get revenge a tad more than all of them combined. She knew things were bound to be different, but she couldn’t recognize anything anymore. She had been drifted away from those around her because she didn’t feel a connection to them anymore – the only thing they had in common was anger. She had just made a cup of coffee when Steve walked in, finding Natasha on the verge of crying as he went on about the bright side, but Nat wasn’t having it. She just plopped down next to Natasha, smiling towards Steve without even bothering to listen to their conversation but her eye caught something. Something unexpected. “Oh! Hi. Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognize me” Scott Lang was rumbling on at their front gate. Before she could register their reactions, she had buzzed him in and left the room running towards him. “Have you ever studied Quantum Physics?” Scott asked them a moment later. “Only to make conversation” came a sarcastic answer by Natasha, which didn’t bring him down. “Alright. So... five years ago, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she's my... She was my... She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there” he said while he was struggling not to tell the entire truth about their relationship. “I'm sorry. That must've been a very long five years” Natasha sincerely told him only to be shocked when he replied the most unbelievable thing. “Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was five hours”. Steve and Nat shared a quick bewildered glance, while she had figured it out, because she had indeed studied Quantum Physics. “See, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving” Scott said as he strode over to pick up Nat's sandwich, and bit into it. “Scott, what are you talking about?” Steve asked him confused and puzzled. “What he is saying is, time works differently in the Quantum Realm” she chimed in, gaining a strange look from Steve and a very impressed one from Scott. “The only problem is right now, we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. What if, we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way to enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like...” he went on. “Like before Thanos” she half-whispered. “Wait, are you two talking about a time machine?” Steve asked as he couldn’t believe his ears. “No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. It's more like a... Yeah, a time machine. I know it's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be some way... There's gotta be...some w... it's crazy” his craziness was making her head dizzy. She knew they would have to talk to her father, sooner or later. She hoped it would be later but that was not gonna the case. “Scott, I get e-mails from a raccoon, so nothing sounds crazy anymore” Nat reassured him. “So who do we talk to about this?” Scott cut to the chase and everyone looked at her.

They pulled over at his cabin and one by one got out of the car. Tony looked at them and she could tell that he was not looking forward to the discussion about to take place. He acknowledged her with a single hey, and so she decided to let them talk in peace while she was gazing at the lake from afar. "I know you got a lot on the line. You got a wife, a daughter. But I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did. And now, now we have a chance to bring her back. To bring everyone back. And you're telling me that won't even... “ his voice got louder as he tried to sell his desperation to Tony. “That's right, Scott, I won't even. I got a kid” Tony simply told them, making her remark. “Yeah, now he’s got a kid” she retorted, making him realize what he had just said. As on cue, Morgan run to her dad, who picked her up. “Mommy told me to come and save you. And to tell to the pretty girl to stay a while” Morgan told him as she pointed at his other daughter. “Good job. I'm saved. I wish you'd come here to ask me something else. Anything else. Honestly, I... I missed you guys, it was... Oh, and table's set for six” he went on and informed them. “Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance” Steve tried to reason with him but she already knew he wasn’t gonna give up just yet. He had to solve it on his own. “I got my second chance right here, Cap. I can't roll the dice again. If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch. And you should stay for a while” he concluded as he turned to face her. She smiled at him. She was going to stay a while and Steve saw it. It was hard to say goodbye but unfortunately it had become easier with the years. Steve, Nat and Scott were walking back to their car outside Tony's house as she was stepping inside, hugging Pepper. She could feel him slipping away from her life but she didn’t know how to keep him there – well, she didn’t even know if he wanted to be there anymore.

The day had been quiet, Pepper was an amazing mother and Tony was trying to be a great dad but he knew that he had failed once before, so he wasn’t hoping for much. They had lunch and she met Morgan a bit better. The kid was smart, but that didn’t come as a surprise, it was rather a given. “So how do you two know each other?” she asked suspiciously as she eyed her. Tony almost chocked but she kept her calm, as she was sipping a glass of wine. “We used to work together for a project, sweetie” she smoothly told her without raising any suspicion and even thought Tony felt relieved, Pepper shoot him an angry look, making him nod his head as if they made a promise. “You’re an Avenger!” Morgan exclaimed, excited with her new discovery. But before she could say a thing, Morgan begun asking questions – more questions than anyone before, leaving her stumped. “Honey, come on. Don’t bombard her with your questions. Wanna help me with dessert?” Pepper came to the rescue quickly and she couldn’t be more thankful. Silence fell and it was awkward because no one was going to break it first and Pepper knew as she said louldy "talk". Both of them rolled their eyes at that. "She is smart, that's from your side and she is beautiful - that's all Pepper" she commented shortly after. He almost laughed at her quick comeback. "How are you? How are things back?" he asked her sincerely, trying to make up for all the lost time. She shook her head, not wanting to lie. Something he understood very well. "Let me guess. You have been drifted away from people, especially Steve" he made a wild guess and he knew he was right. She stopped hiding her feelings. "Everything I thought I had is no longer. That's why I came here with them. They are asking you to be a hero and save the world. I just wanted to ask you a favor. A while back, I... I left and went -" "To a nice lady called Isabella, who lost her son and granddaughter" he finished her sentence for her, leaving her puzzled. "What? Did you really think I wasn't looking after you?" he asked her. "Well, you left to start a family and didn't even call, so... um. I should have" she concluded at last. He disagreed with her. She had stayed there, not to ask him to fight with them, but to help her find a way, because she knew that there was going to be o return for him and she wanted Morgan to have both of her parents and to feel loved. One of his daughters should.

She was just watching him work from the couch as she was drinking a hot cup of tea. “Look at a mod inspiration, let me see what check out. So, recommend one last sim before we pack it in for the night” he gave orders to his computer. “Maybe in the shape of a mobius strip, inverted, don’t you think?” she commented as she took a look to the holographic experiment. He agreed with an impressed look. “Do as the lady suggests” he informed Friday. “Processing... “ “Give me that eigenvalue. That, particle factoring, and a spectral decomp. That will take a second” he had just stepped away, towards the couch but it was not to be. “And don't worry if it doesn't pan out. I'm just kinda –“ “Model rendered” Friday announced sending waves of bewilderments down her spine. Tony in a complete shock of amazement as the render came back as 99.987% successful, fell back ecstatic by this discovery. “Shit!” they both exclaimed at the same time. “Shit” Morgan giggled as she repeated the word they had just uttered. Tony took on the father roll quicker than she had thought as he nodded to her to take care of everything that had just been projected while he took Morgan away. They had solved time travel. They had actually found out how to go back in time. Her mind was blown away just by looking at it. As she was walking around the holographic model, Pepper came down the stairs looking for her. “You should rest honey. It’s late” she told her like a mother would. She smiled at her and waited for Tony to get back. “Maybe it’s not” she told her, leaving her puzzled. They both sat on the couch, Pepper reading a book and she was just thinking of the endless possibilities. People less lucky than her would get to see the sun again. Isabella’s family. Spider-kid, Wanda, Strange, Bucky. Oh Gods, Bucky. She had tried to forget about him and how much it had affected her. It had been one of the few failures of her life. “Not that it's a competition, but she loves me 3000. You were somewhere on the low 6 to 900 range” Tony announced as he joined them and got Pepper to scoff. “What are you reading?” he asked absentmindedly as she noticed. “Oh, it's just a book on composting” Pepper told him, making her long for a simple life once more. “What's new with composting?” he asked again without really wanting an answer. Before she could, he cut her off. “We figured it out, by the way” he blurred out, pointing at his daughter proudly. “You know, just so we're talking about the same thing –“ Pepper tried to catch up on their new discovery, very happy they were working together. “Time travel” he simply informed like it was nothing. “What? Wow... That's amazing, and... terrifying. Oh, that’s why you told me maybe it’s not late” she told him amazed as she turned to her still very much astonished. “We got really lucky” she commented and both of them agreed. “Yeah, I know” her father said a tad sad. “A lot of people didn't” Pepper softly nudged him. “No, I can't help everybody” he tried to be civilized and open for debate about it. “It sorta seems like you can. Both of you” his wife disagreed. “Not if I stop. I can put a pin in it right now, and stop” he insisted but they all new what was about to happen. “Tony, trying to get you to stop has been one of the few failures of my life” Pepper echoed her thought from moments ago. Tony smiled proudly about that very fact. “I sometimes feel I should put it in a locked box and drop it at the bottom of a lake... go to bed” he had almost given up on saying no. He wasn’t able to deny that she was right. “But would you be able to rest?” her soft voice pierced through his head. “And neither would you. I know that you left at some point because the memories were too much” she told her with honesty. She couldn’t believe how selfless Pepper was being about something so dangerous. “Come on, kiddo. It’s time to sleep. Tomorrow we are gonna go on a trip” Tony urged his daughter. She could get use to that. “Goodnight Pepper. Goodnight To-… dad” she finally told him, making him smile in pure happiness for the first time in a while.

The whole world was changing and she had been a part of that very fact. Every plan, every strategy and every theory had been mapped out but she knew that sometimes, even the cleverest of minds can miss a point – so small that no one could have seen. Wanda was trying destroy Thanos, having cost everything to her, Scott and Hope were trying to kick start the engine of the van and everyone was trying to get the gauntlet as far away as possible, without it being very easy of a task.

Pepper landed next to Okoye, followed by Mantis, Shuri, the Wasp, Gamora, Nebula and herself much to everyone else’s opinion – they all thought she was going to be right by Steve. Thanos' army charged while they helped Carol Danvers gey through the Outriders, Sakaarans and Chitauri. When Carol and she flew towards the van with the Gauntlet, Thanos, after being stopped by Pepper, Shuri and Hope, threw his double sword at the van, destroying it completely. He knocked Carol down and smacked Tony away as Thor arrived in an attempt to pin Thano’s arm down – Steve came rushing towards them, helping Thor but they were all overpowered. In a desperate attempt, when she saw Thanos picking up the gauntlet she punched him away. Thanos grabbed her by the arm and threw her away like she weighted nothing. Thanos put on the gauntlet, gamma radiation from the stones all over his body, as he tried to snap, but she arose again, and stopped his fingers from snapping, opening up his hand similar to what she had seen Steve doing in the other battle. She almost had him, forcing him onto his knees, as her powers were finally enough, she was ready to steal the stones herself. She knew she could take them on – she was part of them and they were part of her. But alas, he pulled the Power Stone out of the Gauntlet and used it in his free hand to hit her away, almost killing her in the prosses. Tony was looking at his daughter terrified and too scared to think of what might happen. He made one last attack on Thanos, having an entirely different plan on his mind. Thanos pushed him away, ending up right next to his older daughter. All it took was one look and she knew – before she could anything at all, everything was already over. “I am inevitable” Thanos snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. He saw that the stones were missing. “NO!” she screamed but Tony simply smiled at her. s except a metallic "clink." He sees the Infinity Stones are missing.

“And I– am– Iron Man”.

The cruelest thing that someone had done to her was first claim to love her more than anything in the world. That he had never seen anything as exquisite as her. That she was every star in the night sky. That he would never leave her. And then one day, out of the blue he did. He lulled her into a false sense of security, convincing her that this, this is the forever love she have been looking for. This is the kind of love she needed all this time, the kind of love she had craved and let her get comfortable in it because it would last. And then, one day, he walked away. He made her believe that there would never be another. And then one day, he forgot her. He simply left without warning after promising her eternity. How ephemeral it turned out to be... It had been years since he came back. Not him - not her Steve. Peggy's Steve. She had refused to meet him - she had refused to even look at him, or be in the same building. She felt betrayed. She had lost Natasha as she had sacrificed herself to get the fucking Soul Stone. She had lost her father and that felt on her - she still felt responsible. And then Steve had decided to leave her all alone to fight her demons after constantly reassuring her he loved her. But he caught her by surprise, when he entered her office, as she was now in charge of everything her father once held - Morgan was too young and Pepper wanted some time off with her daughter. He knocked the door, waited for her to call him in and he entered. She had been facing the other way, on a phone call but the minute she turned and faced him, her phone fell on the floor and her heart skipped more beats than she could count. "Hello, Ms.. Stark. Do you have a minute for an old friend?" he was being polite as well as sarcastic but her mind had already imploded, so what the fuck? Gaining some of her confidence back, she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "We were never friends, Mr. Rogers" she fired coldly but he knew her better and she hated it. He looked at her and all it took was a moment. He too raised his eyebrow and walked towards her with absolutely no intention of leaving. Before she could register his acts, he had enveloped her in to his big hug and she felt so fucking angry - it still felt like home. Without even knowing it, she was crying with her head almost resting on his chest. "It’s weird. It’s weird how you have the same face but you’re a completely different person. It’s weird how I have so many amazing memories with you but they died off as you’re a completely different person. It’s weird that I’m mourning over someone that is still alive because you’re a completely different person. It’s weird, you’re a completely different person. And I hate you for leaving me, but I can never really hate you because I love you" she told him as he sat them down to her couch. She left his arms to look at him. She lowered her walls and finally opened up to him again. "If I could do it all again, I would stay up later. I would ask more questions, unashamed of how personal they were and not afraid that I wouldn’t like the answers. If I could start over with you, I wouldn’t doubt my instincts. I wouldn’t fear what people thought if I catered to your every whim and laughed at every stupid joke. If I could try again, I would embrace every moment of every fight and ask for everything I needed from you. I wouldn’t worry if I was too needy, too attached, too much of anything. I would be myself more. I would scream louder. I wouldn’t hesitated to tell you I love you, in every way, every day. If I could do it again, I would not love you in halting steps always looking for some sort of validation that I was stepping on solid ground. I would jump into you and if you didn’t catch me, then I would still be picking up the same broken pieces I am now" she sincerely told him. She had lost both her friend and her father, both of them in the name of salvation and then Steve choose to leave her and go back. She had refused to exist for a while because she couldn't function. As everything crumbled around her, she had looked for a something to hold on to, but those closest couldn’t hear her amidst their screaming matches. She looked for those who swore to be there during her weakest moment only to see the illusion fade away leaving only crossed fingers, emptiness, and disappointment. She was done searching for someone, when someone did appear. Without even thinking about it, he wiped a single tear that ran across her cheek. He wasn't her Steve, but those eyes... "I never believed that I would have felt the way you made me feel after all those years in the ice. I owe you everything. And repaying you in the way I did... I wouldn't have forgiven me if I were you. An apology won't help, I know. For what it’s worth, you will always hold a special place" he told her in tender way that reminded her of their story and more tears found their way out. And he wiped every single one of them. She could tell from the way he hugged her when he saw her. He had kept the silent promise he had made when she was too drunk to remember what she had asked of him. Years had passed since she allowed herself to see him again. After saying a polite hello, they hugged like friends did. But then he squeezed her a little tighter right before he let go. She had almost rested her head on his chest out of habit, because it suddenly felt just like old times. She had thought she'd never be in his embrace again but there they were. They both wanted to hold on tighter but they knew they were different now. But she could tell from the way he hugged her, from the way he held on just a little longer, that somewhere, deep down... "I missed you too" she smiled at him, a strange but very much wanted feeling of relief washing over her heart. They both knew, no one could stop loving. Once you have loved someone honestly, truly, you will never be able to un-love them. You can only find someone you will love more. At that time, your old love will not feel so strong, but it will always be in your heart, it will never let you forget something that at some point along the way made you happy. "You hold a special place in someone else's heart too, you know" he commented like a genie. Her eyebrow arched. "Stop playing matchmaker, you old wise owl" she mocked him. At least, she could start again. He still held her face in his hands, he still held a piece of her, he would always be her first love. The bigger the love, the harder the fall. They stayed like that until Bucky walked into her office, looking for her. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously when he saw Steve holding her but he reprimanded himself almost immediately. She saw the way Steve looked up at him and she knew he wanted some alone time him. Leaving his hands was harder than she thought, smiling at all times. "Don't be a stranger, Rogers" she bid him goodbye but his eyes told her this wasn't the last time they would see each other and she found solace. She passed Bucky in her way out, smiling brightly to him, making his eyes sparkle in hope. She had just left the room when she heard Steve being completely honest.

"She is different now. I was too much of a punk to see how beautiful she really was. Her heart was beautiful, she cared so much about me and I never understood why. I don't think I treated her the way she deserves to be treated - but you do. Don't look at me like that, Bucky. I am old, not blind. I can see the way you two look at each other. Back then, her love scared me, it was so intense. I almost forgot how enticing her smile was. She just wasted so many tears on someone like me and for that I will never forgive me" he told his friend but his mind was someplace else. She smiled to herself and finally left them alone. Whatever was to come, she would face it. Finding closure had never been about forgetting. It had never been about drowning out the voices of her past or about closing her heart to memories that used to make you happy. Finding closure meant accepting a situation for what it was and moving on. It was coming to terms with the way things were and knowing that she couldn't change what had happened, but could still find growth among the broken pieces.

_____

“I am so glad I got my heart broken. It led me to you”. ____

Taglist: @accio-rogers @coffee-with-orion @stydia-4-ever @smilexcaptainx @elliee1497

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things2mustdo · 4 years ago

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The iPhone afterlife. Your next iPhone will cost much more. There are only two obvious ways to lose money: charity and stupidity. Leftism works by appealing to charity of stupidity-prone drones. From feminization of the general populace to European Union endorsement of Syrian invaders, Western governments have successfully metamorphosed from charitable to cuckold. The European youth need some deep introspection to solve this infiltration and betrayal, as do us Americans.

The American public has been sold out by its politicians, wealthy elite, and professional victims. But before we solve any social and cultural issues, we must first solve the American economy. After all, how can we revert to genuine charity when nobody has any money? Here are the five steps to reinvigorating the American economy:

1. Reduce “Made in China” imports and strive for a trade surplus

Factory manager holding monthly Walmart orders. For Chairman Mao!

There is common paranoia that our new Chinese overlords are inevitable. We run trade deficits with China so habitually that American defeatists just cry their way to Walmart. Of course, people always think the grass is greener in foreign pastures. The truth is that China is anticipating its own Baby Boomer pension collapse. During Mao’s “Great Leap Forward”, Chinese birth rates soared to meet his agricultural and manufacturing ambitions. He wanted each Chinese household to farm and smelt iron.

Mao’s economic policy failed, and China eventually enacted single child policies to relieve future pension burdens. It was too late. These Chinese Baby Boomers are now supported by China’s export-based trade surpluses. The Chinese are racing against nature’s hourglass, similar to our impending Social Security crisis. In order to avoid collapse, the Chinese economy depends on producing Gap khakis and Walmart toys, while rushing to switch to developed services such as finance and technology.

How does this relate to America? Our consumption of cheap textiles, toys and televisions is feeding their Maoist Baby Boomers. While nations like China operate on currency depreciation and mercantilist behavior, Western nations foolishly prop onto the moral pedestal of “free trade.” Western nations used mercantilism from the 1500’s until abandoning it after WWI.

Once we pull the carpet from under the Chinese and balance our trade ledgers, their welfare and pension bubble will pop. Once America revitalizes its manufacturing bases, the Chinese bubble of cheap export goods will burst. China will meet the same fate as late Rome.

How can we achieve this? The American government must offer tax incentives to corporations who shore employment to American workers. Forced employer-provided services, such as Obamacare, must be suspended. Finally, we must collect punishing tariffs on Chinese imports until they properly revalue their currency. It is time to play rough once again.

2. Reallocate foreign policy funds to subsidize nuclear power and renewable energy sources

Greatest place to build a nuclear power plant? The nation where four tectonic plates meet, of course!

Humanitarian aid and offering asylum are noble efforts, but should have no priority in times of economic turmoil. The most useful is energy, the fuel and lubricant of every economy. Israel loves boasting about their strength and independence, right? So American dollars are just scraps to them. If they are truly great allies of the American people, won’t they forgive that we can’t spare any missiles this fiscal year?

Liberals wet themselves over everything European, right? Well, the French get over 80% of their electricity from nuclear fission. Are Americans paranoid about nuclear power because of the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters? Firstly, engineered products of Communist regimes were always of infamously low-quality. Chernobyl was the result of “socialize losses, privatize profits.”

After all, why should an industrial firm under Communism innovate or guarantee product quality, when state owned enterprising dictates that failure is rewarded with research subsidies? Fukushima was in Japan, a nation atop multiple tectonic fault-lines, so an earthquake-induced disaster was inevitable.

The French have a perfect track record with nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants should utilized within inland states free of frequent natural disasters. The coastal and riverside states should receive research and construction subsidies for hydroelectric and tidal energy plants.

3. Strictly enforce immigration policies

She’s here for some English learning. If you don’t support it, you’re a misogynist.

All illegal immigrants share two characteristics. Firstly, they have propensity to break the law, as their presence is already evidence of laws already violated. How can I depend on a neighbor to be well-behaved, when they broke the rules to become my neighbor? Secondly, their presence skews economic and logistical calculations. Although they are not legal citizens, their presence interferes with census data, district allotment, and native wages. I won’t even start on the high rate at which they receive welfare.

Now contrast this with the characteristics of a foreign student graduating from an American university. A graduating student obviously bothered to learn the English language. This graduating student has shown an ability to pay (or will pay) tens of thousands of dollars of tuition, as well as ensure enough earning potential to not receive welfare.

However, we are rolling foreign students through our prestigious universities before forcing them back to their home countries. This process of “brain drain” is moronic and suicidal. Why do we expel the intelligent, stable, and studious members, while ignoring potential criminals entering our borders? We should therefore offer work visas or citizenship to foreign exchange students graduating from American universities.

4. Encourage electronics recycling within the United States

While we are distracted by subjective issues such as “equality” and “patriarchy,” there is an investment that garners no attention—American supply of precious metals. Precious metals, such as gold, copper, and lithium are found in everything. American manufacturing is based on highly sophisticated goods, such as Boeing aircraft.

As we demand smarter smartphones and missiles that fly further, demand for computer chips will skyrocket. However, for a pretty view and cheaper disposal costs, American electronics are dumped into Asian and African landfills. This is an issue where only pictures can show the magnitude:

There’s more copper in that bowl than all the pennies in the USA.

The iPhone afterlife. Your next iPhone will cost much more.

This bounty should have been ours. We are playing them dollars and precious metals, to charge us more dollars later.

Those foreign recycling firms scavenge and recycle these precious metals and resell them to American manufacturers at a decent markup. As these landfill nations emerge, they will either a) hoard these precious metals for domestic technology firms, or b) hoard these precious metals and charge American firms monopoly prices. If you think a replacement battery for your laptop is expensive now, how much will it cost if China’s landfills held 70% of the world’s lithium reserves?

5. Abolish affirmative action quotas based on ethnicity and gender

A woman trying to be even less productive.

The original purpose of affirmative action was in education for African Americans, rightfully justified by atrocities committed by a subset of Southern agriculturalists. It eventually included women and Latin Americans. Nowadays it has become the Olympiad of Victim-hood.

Let’s examine Rachel Dolezal. She was the white woman who tanned and changed her hairstyle for positions in Howard University and NAACP:

Leftists say race is a human construct and not real. All races are therefore equal.

Rachel Dolezal wasn’t allowed be Black. Leftists insist on separating Black and white.

“Separate, but equal” is also known as segregation.

So affirmative action is segregation.

Affirmative action disincentivizes both the “privileged” and “victim.” The “privileged” won’t be productive because of the threat of being displaced or plundered. The “victim” will receive the spoils of plunder or displacement regardless of productivity. The country thus loses two shares of productivity, all for some fairy-tale rendition of fairness, equality and sparkling unicorns. The American government needs to gradually abolish affirmative action policies, and start heading for meritorious rewards.

Conclusion

All these steps encourage self-dependence, abandoning unnecessary burdens, and accumulating resources for the future. We need a long-term energy source, a domestic manufacturing base and precious raw material. We cannot afford foreign aid, providing economic asylum or pandering to victim-hood.

I’m not saying to abandon charity or sympathy for the unfortunate, simply that it is dangerous for a government to contort economic outcomes for its own ideal of charity. It is time for America to stop feeding from the cauldron of guilt stirred by the Leftists. It is time for America to rise again.

Read More: Why The American Economy Needs The Beta Male

Our understanding of the beta male’s status as an underappreciated, and downright derided figure in modern American society is reasonably well developed, but what is his true utility? While an answer to this question has been touched on before, I posit that an even clearer resolution can be found through an examination of the modern American system’s consumerist imperative.

Our society starts adhering to this consumerist imperative by promoting the growth of rampant materialism amongst Americans from an early age, with the media as a main tool. Young Americans learn early on that “bigger is better,” regardless of whether it actually is. A celebrity-centric, materialist culture heavily focused on spending and the trappings of it (as well as how to look like you have it) is the result. Add American culture’s uniquely competitive and adversarial nature to this and you’ve got an even bigger phenomenon, with Americans all striving to outdo one another in this materialistic effort (“Keeping up with the Jones,” or Kardashians) and spending money they don’t have in the process.

Then the society uses a host of clichéd but heavily romanticized tropes about the “American experience” that are designed to reinforce all of this.

The first important trope is “The American Dream” (sizable suburban home, some land, fence, two $30,000+ cars, etc.), which is romanticized to an extent that many Americans can’t be satisfied with anything less as a long term goal. That, combined with the promotion of the rabid materialism mentioned earlier, makes them susceptible to overspending in order to reach that goal, ensuring that they never have much to save. Of course, thanks to the promotion of the trope, most Americans still feel it is all worth it even if they can’t afford it and go into debt.

Then you have another important trope involving work ethic. This stems from America’s puritanical roots, and is a key reason why Americans work more and vacation less than almost anyone else in the developed world. This is the type of trope that keeps the average American worker bee laboring almost constantly.

All of these things, combined, help to ensure that the average American is always spending, never saving, and constantly producing with relatively less leisure. The wage slave, the majority of the USA’s populace, can’t save and thus can’t stop working. The average American is, in essence, a slave to consumerism.

The tropes noted are particularly important, since they essentially cover the bases even for most of the minority of Americans who earn more (upper middle class or above) and could in theory end up saving more. Because materialism and consumerism are so heavily promoted and “bigger is always better,” those who make more rarely use the surplus to save or build any real wealth—they just spend more.

Thus, you have a game in which nobody really wins. Even when you do “win” (read: succeed as a capitalist and gain a high income), you end up losing because you spend it all trying to outdo everyone else and live up to the materialistic ideals that have most likely been drilled into you (and if the consumerist impulse doesn’t get them, then absurdly high school debts will). In the end, even a good number of these high-earning individuals have nothing more to show for it than those below their income level (unless, of course, they’re aware of these tropes, which most Americans aren’t).

This is actually kind of an intricately brilliant formula, and would probably do wonders for anybody at the top of society looking to maintain hegemony. Such individuals may maintain an ethos of inter-generational wealth (read: controlled spending, prudent wealth-building investment, etc.) that preserves their status and allows them to maintain control of America’s financial and industrial life.

This entire system counts on one crucial piece, however, without which things would likely grind to a halt.

The Indispensable Beta Male

Seeing through the rigged nature of the sexual marketplace is as hard as seeing through the larger economic game. In fact, I think a lot of the tropes associated with our modern sexual marketplace are intimately related with the consumerist and materialist tropes we’ve been talking about. Yes, it is true that the vast majority of the grunt work that keeps the foundations of our society sound (e.g. infrastructure maintenance, defense, law enforcement, etc) is carried out by beta males. I’ve written about that before, but the beta’s usefulness to the economic system goes well beyond that.

Married men make for vastly superior wage slaves, and the beta male is the most common and most useful of all married men—they form the backbone of this entire system. Their instilled “duty” to their wives and family is easily co-opted and exploited to fit the rigged materialist game. Now it is not just about competing with other individuals, but rather outdoing other families (bigger houses, two or three nicer cars in driveway, bigger vacations, better and more expensive private schools, etc.). The element of family just makes the stakes a lot higher, and it is the beta’s support that makes such an increase possible: his labor and devotion facilitate vastly greater sums of expenditure (he’s got a lot more to pay for), while subsequently freeing those he supports (wife and children) to focus almost entirely on consumption. He’s doing all of the producing, ensuring that they are free to lay back and take more than they give without much thought.

The ability of a betatized and married man to see through the game and avoid its pitfalls is much lower than that of a disconnected single guy, especially when said single guy is anything like Roosh, Heartiste, or any other number of manosphere men. Because he is a devoted beta, he’ll see few other options aside from slaving away into eternity and going into debt to provide the American Dream for those he loves, who are free to benefit immensely from said labor and consume absent much thought to how much of a contribution they themselves will make.

The game knows that the consumerist ethos it promotes is especially effective on women, who shop and consume more often and more leisurely than men do and are much more wary of their social status relative to one another (which means they’ll want to compete more with other women, spending more in order to do so). Modern marriage serves to link the beta male to these women. Result? He is likely to face a lot more pressure from his wife to push further and further (bigger house, money for shopping, bigger cars), pressure he’d be less compelled to give in to as a carefree bachelor. Women are often a little less willing than the average guy to drop out of the consumer culture and generally more willing to invest deeply in it. By linking these women with devoted betas who are willing to provide at all costs, the game helps to keep men in the fold more firmly. If those men were on their own, they’d be far less likely to play.

The presence of a wife will also make it more likely that more of his income goes into consumer purchases than it would on his own. Women do much of the shopping in these families, and thus control how much of total household income is spent. All of this is key to keeping the worker bee in line, and also ensuring that there will be more future worker bees (kids = much more money spent come Christmas time and many other occasions = even more indebted and dependent worker bees = profit).

In the case of divorce? The game has a simple solution: shift laws in women’s favor so as to guarantee that, more often than not, they will garner a larger sum of the male’s income (alimony, punitive child support, etc.). The game realizes that women are more prone on average to their message of consumerism, so it seeks to ensure that a decent sum of money still remains in their hands in all scenarios.

Thus, the sexual marketplace is geared to create more married, beta males and, in doing so, shift a larger portion of the nation’s money supply into the direct or indirect control of those more likely to spend it (women). The game needs devoted, married betas in order to work, and they’re the main force holding it all together. If too many men start going their own way and forgoing marriage (and the expensive duties now intimately linked to the institution), the game might lack for players.

Will enough of the male population remain invested in order to keep everything going? This remains to be seen.

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trendresearch · 4 years ago

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13)What is Sustainability?

The concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars: environmental, economic and social. Explained in the English dictionary Sustainability is the “avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain ecological balance.” Sustainability is the focus on meeting the demands of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainability influences businesses to take a more active approach in improving the environment. Increasingly, companies have issued goals such as commitment to zero-waste packaging by a certain year, or to reduce overall emissions by a certain percentage.

The environmental impact of the fashion industry

Although the fashion industry is striving toward a more sustainable future, the industry still has a disastrous impact on the environment. It is considered to be the second biggest polluter of the world, just after the oil industry; and the impact is only increasing environmental damages as the industry continues to grow.

Water pollution

In a lot of the countries that garments are typically produced; untreated toxic waste waters from these textile factories are dumped directly into the rivers.

Waste water contains toxic substances, such as lead, mercury and arsenic among many others. These have an extremely harmful impact on the aquatic life and the health of those living near these rivers.The contamination eventually reaches the sea and eventually spreads around the globe.

Another major source of water contamination is the extended use of fertilisers for cotton production, which heavily pollutes run off and evaporation waters.

To prevent this we should choose clothes made in countries that have stricter environmental regulations for factories ie Canada, the EU and Us.

We should also choose more organic and natural fibres that do not require chemicals to be produced.

Water Consumption

The fashion industry is a major water consumer.

Large quantities of fresh water are used for the dyeing and finishing process for all of our clothes. To put this into perspective; It can take up to 200 tonnes of fresh water per tonne of dyed fabric.

Cotton also needs large amounts of water to grow; Up to 20,000 litres of water are needed to produce 1kg of cotton. This causes many issues, one being that it generates tremendous pressure on this already scarce source and secondly, it has dramatic ecological consequences such as the decertification of the Aral Sea; where cotton production has completely drained out the water.

Image found and taken from: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/46685/the-shrinking-aral-sea-recovers

We should be more conscious and choose fibres with low water consumption such as linen and recycled fibres etc.

Microfibres in the Ocean

When synthetic garments like polyester, nylon etc are washed, about 1,900 individual microfibres are released into the water; which then make its way into the oceans.

Scientists have since discovered that small aquatic organisms ingest these microfibres; These are then eaten by small fish which are then eaten by bigger fish, introducing plastic into our food chain.

To help eliminate this, we should use natural or semi-synthetic fibres.

Waste accumulation

Clothing has become disposable and as a result of this we are seeing- or not seeing- more textile waste being generated.

The average western household throws away around 30kg of clothing each year. Only 15% is recycled or donated, while the rest go directly to landfill or are incinerated.

Synthetic fibres like polyester are plastic fibres and therefore, non-biodegradable and can take up to 200 years to decompose. Synthetic fibres are used in 72% of our clothing.

We can choose natural or semi-synthetic fibres and buy less, buy better quality, mend and recycle clothes to help reduce this.

Chemicals

Chemicals are a major component in our clothes. They are used during fibre production, dyeing, bleaching and the wet processing of each garment.

This heavy use of cotton farming, causes diseases and premature death among cotton farmers. Along with that, massive amounts of fresh water and ocean water pollution and soil degradation are created.

These substances are also harmful to us, the consumer.

In order for us to reduce this we should choose organic fibres, sustainable and ethical brands and always wash new clothes before use. We should also look and wear garments with certification labels- such as; OEKO-TEX, GOTS or BLUESIGN.

Greenhouse gas emissions

The fashion industry is accountable for 10% of global carbon emissions.

The industry is generating a lot of greenhouse gases due to the amount of energy that is used during its production and manufacturing process as well as the transportation of garments each year.

Synthetic fibres(Polyester, acrylic, nylon etc.) which are used in the majority of our clothes, are made from fossil fuel; making this a more energy-intensive process than with natural fibres. Most of our clothing is produced in countries that are essentially powered by coal like China, Bangladesh and India to name few. This is the most impure and dirtiest type of energy in terms of carbon emission.

James Conca, Forbes reflects that “Cheap synthetic fibres also emit gases like N2O which is 300 times more damaging than CO2.”

Being aware of this, we should aim to buy clothes in countries powered by renewable energy and or choose natural fibres and buy better quality or mend clothing.

Soil Degradation

Soil, is the fundamental element of our ecosystem. Healthy soil is needed for food production but also to absorb CO2.

The global degradation of soil is one of the main environmental issues our planet is facing- contributing to global warming and threatening global food security.

The fashion industry plays a major part in the degradation of soil in many ways: overgrazing of pastures through cashmere goats and sheep raised for their wool; massive use of chemicals to grow cotton and the use of wood based fibres like rayon that is causing deforestation. It is because of this that we should be conscious of more soil friendly fibres.

Rainforest Destruction

Every year, thousands of hectares of endangered and ancient rainforests are cut down and replaced by plantation of trees used to make wood-based fabrics such as rayon, viscose and modal.

The loss of forests are a direct threat to the ecosystem and indigenous communities. Over the past decade Indonesia has suffered large- scale deforestation of its rainforests.

Image found and taken from: https://www.thinkinghumanity.com/2018/05/revealing-video-by-greenpeace-international-raises-awareness-of-massive-deforestation-in-indonesia.html

Opt for lyocell/tencel instead of rayon, modal or viscose materials.

When we’re talking about the negative impacts that the fashion industry has on the environment, we should also take into account the un-ethical practices of those that are in the fast fashion garment making industry,

Majority of our clothes are made in countries in which workers rights are limited or non-existent. Production companies regularly move locations in search for even cheaper labour costs.Many of our beloved fashion brands assure its customers that the people making their clothes are paid at least the minimum legal wage. However in most countries like China, Bangladesh and India the minimum wage is said to be a lot less- between half to a fifth of the living wage. We can even see this type of thing with fast fashion retailers like ‘Boohoo’ who had been reported to only be paying their workers at their Leicester factory a meagre £3.50 an hour, when the minimum legal wage in the UK for those aged 25 and above stands at £8.72.Despite these claims BooHoo still managed to accumulate a surge in sales. It is also worth mentioning that Boohoo’s sister company ‘Pretty Little Thing’ received backlash after their Black Friday sale which reduced its products down to 99%. It was also discovered that during this current climate, the staff at the Leicester factory were not wearing protective face masks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus and so it comes as no surprise to find out the fashion workers are exploited and forced to work in health compromising working conditions in poorer climates. Garment workers are forced often forced to work 14-16 hours a day, 7 days a week in order to meet the brands deadlines. Because these workers have such a low income, a lot of them are unable to refuse overtime and in some cases, overtime is not even paid at all.

The collapse of the Rana Plaza, in 2013, killing 1134 garment workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh has given us a peek into the unacceptable labour conditions of these garment making factories within the fashion industry.

Image found and take from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/19/rana-plaza-uk-pressure-compensation-fund-victims

Workers are often left without ventilation; breathing in toxic substances. Accidents, fires, injuries and disease are very prevalent occurrences within these unethical textile production sites.

It is estimated that 168 billion children in the world are forced to work. Because the fashion industry requires low-skilled labour, children are often recruited and this is very prominent in the industry. In South India, 250,000 girls work under the sumangali scheme, in which girls are sent to work for 3-5 years in a textile factory in exchange for a basic wage and a lump sum at the end of their dowry. These children are often left overworked and are forced to live in appalling conditions.

Image found and taken from: https://features.hrw.org/features/HRW_2015_reports/Bangladesh_Garment_Factories/chapter-1.html

Sustainable Fashion

Image found and taken from: https://fashionmagazine.com/style/high-fashion-sustainable-clothing-photoshoot/

The meaning of sustainable fashion is having the intention to reduce environmental impact and improve social conditions within the industry.

The Green Strategy has set out clear goals to improve all stages of a product lifestyle focusing on harmful environmental effects and working conditions.

The Environmental Goals are aimed to protect natural resources; water, energy, land, soil, animals, plants, biodiversity, ecosystems; select renewable energy sources; wind, wave, solar, repair, remake, reuse, care and recycle products; Improve working conditions in the field, factories, transportation chain, and stores and to follow good ethics, best practice and international codes of conduct to ensure that these goals are maintained.

Green Strategy’s Anna Brismar has since identified seven main forms of more sustainable fashion production and consumption, as seen below.

Image found and taken from: https://www.greenstrategy.se/sustainable-fashion/seven-forms-of-sustainable-fashion/

Circular Fashion as explained by A. Brismar 2017 is “defined as clothes, shoes or accessories that are designed, sourced, produced and provided with the intention to be used and circulated responsibly and effectively in society for as long as possible in their most valuable farmland hereafter return safely to the biosphere when no longer of human use.”

The concept of circular fashion is based on the main principles of the circular economy and sustainable development. It’s concerned with the entire life cycle of a product, from design and sourcing all the way to production.

Essentially, fashion products should be designed with longevity, resource efficiency, non-toxicity, biodegradability, recyclability and good ethics in mind.

Moreover, products should be used for as long as possible, through good care, repair, refurbishment and sharing among multiple users over time. Things like shopping second hand/vintage, rent clothing, use resale sites, like Vinted, eBay, Depop and others alike can help with this as well as investing in circular fashion brands like MaisonCléo, AVAVAV and Rave Review who all use dead stock and left over materials for their creations; extending the life of unwanted or over-produced fabrics that would most likely end up landfill; materials should be recycled and reused for the manufacturing of new products. If unfit for recycling, these materials should instead be composted to become nutrients for plants and other living organisms in the ecosystem.

‘Clevercare’ owned by designer Stella McCartney has created a list of tips to help ensure the longevity of your clothing and to also become more environmentally friendly. She suggests to; not wash your clothes as often and spot clean; Wash clothes at a lower temperature to save energy and extend the life of your clothing; Hang clothes out to dry instead of relying on a tumble dryer and avoid using energy; Iron only when necessary; Consider using eco friendly dry cleaners and if you tire of an old item of clothing, recycle it and ultimately, the less you wash your clothes the better.

Fashion is seeing the start of products being pulled into the market based on actual demand rather than being pushed towards us based on guesses and forecasts.

Fashion on demand is a factor that a lot of designers are adopting to make their practices more ethical and environmentally aware as spoken by A.Brismar 2017 “We are likely to see a rise in the demand for more personalised items of higher quality that are produced ‘on-demand’ (such as tailor-made, custom-made and bespoke items.” Through this concept, we will hopefully see the result of a rise in just-in-time production, reduced levels of overstock, and an increase in the importance of small-batch production cycles.

Image found and taken from: https://bymegancrosby.com/collections/blooming-chaos-🍓

Designer Megan Crosby tailors to each customer, producing made to order pieces using old stock or sustainable fabrics, bold, bright fabric. Megan herself says that she uses “remnant, sustainable and deadstock fabrics as well as environmentally friendly dyes on every garment, to make sure I’m not harming the planet... Each item is made to order, so as well as giving you the perfect fit, I’m also not wasting fabric.” Statement taken and found: https://bymegancrosby.com/pages/about

Circular fashion is a concept that encourages to keep clothing and materials in use through recycling, repurposing and rewearing, avoiding the idea of making completely new products, thus, reducing the amount of ecologically harmful waste. This idea helps us to introduce the reduction of the amount of resources we are using up, as well as the amount of materials and products that end up in landfill.

Image found and taken from: https://stormfashion.dk/product/headwear/headband-marine-serre-1

Designer, Marine Serre creates dresses from patch worked vintage scarves and up-cycles used garments.

Compassionate Fashion: The protection of nature and people

Compassionate fashion (Slow fashion) has been developed as a contrast to the fast fashion industry. The aims are to create clothing within the lens of environmental, ethical, and sustainable ideals. As a result of this, slow fashion finds itself recycling material, reusing excess textiles, up-cycling vintage clothes and advocating for the prolonged lifetime of a garments. While these ideals have always been at the core of the ethical fashion movement, more of the fashion industry is opening up to become more ethically and environmentally conscious.

Designer Stella McCartney and her company believe that “Everybody in our supply chain should be treated with respect and dignity. We believe everybody should earn a fair wage. We believe in building modern and resilient supply chains that provide desirable jobs, foster people’s skills, strengthen worker’s voices and advocate for vulnerable groups.” Stella McCartney 2020

McCartney prides herself on using sustainable or sustainably sourced materials: re-engineered cashmere,100% sustainable viscose, fur free fur, organic cotton, recycled nylon & polyester, vegetarian leather, wool sourced from animal welfare farms etc.

Screenshots taken from: https://www.stellamccartney.com/experience/en/sustainability/themes/materials-and-innovation/

Other brands and designers are taking this approach with E.L.V. Denim taking discarded and unwanted denim; reusing and reworking them into modern and sophisticated designs and Richard Malone who uses natural dyes and little water waste as well as “keeping these women away from harmful chemicals that mega brands consistently overlook in their search for profit over progress.” he states. He has since developed techniques which turned recycled plastic and viscose into yarn and fringing, as well as working with weavers on recycling ocean waste.

How are High Street stores responding to sustainability issues?

Although we are aware that the majority of high street fashion brands are not using ethical and environmentally conscious practices-we are slowly starting to see certain brands and retailers stepping up and heading towards a more sustainable future.

H&M are amongst a few brands that have taken a step towards sustainable fashion. They state that “This is an ongoing process, with a clear aim of continuous improvement...Our vision is for all our operations to be run in a way that is sustainable; economically, socially and environmentally...It will also allow us to improve the livelihood for people and strengthen the communities where we operate. We are involved in various projects and initiatives related to both environmental and social issues.”

H&M have introduced a garment collection service ‘I:collect’ and created a collection attributed to their sustainable practices called ‘The Conscious Collection; where it is said that all items are made from recycled materials. In 2017 their promotion video called ‘H&M Conscious: Bring it on’ suggests that this revoke allows them to revamp these items of clothing, donating them to other people or recycling the materials and making them into new items of clothing or useful items like cloths and cardboard, to name a few- “Instead of throwing old or unwanted garments away, you can bring these to the H&M Store. We will then give them a new life...we work to prevent textiles ending up in landfills...In early 2014, we took the first big steps in this mission and made the first products with at least 20% recycled material from collected garments.”

image found and taken from: https://www.retaildetail.eu/en/news/fashion/hm-continues-its-sustainability-efforts-conscious-exclusive-collection

Zara is another major high street fashion label that has been making an effort to boost its sustainability image with the launch of their ‘JOIN LIFE’ movement; which includes sustainability commitments, ethical goals and products that are made from the most sustainable raw materials – organic cotton, Tencel, Lyocell and recycled polyester, which will account for 20% of Zara’s collections by the end of the of 2015. They claim that by 2025 Zara clothes will be made from 100% sustainable materials- with the owner stating that Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear will shortly follow suit.

An article from GraziaDaily.co.uk documented that Zara has made plans for 2,232 stores to meet the company’s eco-efficient standard and by 2020, “Zara’s factories will aim to produce zero discharge of hazardous chemicals for all products at every stage of the supply chain, while all collections will use sustainable cotton, linen and recycled polyester by 2025.The company is also committed to producing zero landfill waste from its logistic centres and headquarters by 2023 and those same Zara facilities are driving towards using 80 per cent clean energy before 2025.” To top this off Zara has already eliminated single-use plastic bags, with its bags now being 100% recycled as are its cardboard online boxes. Source: https://graziadaily.co.uk/fashion/news/zara-sustainability/

Images found and taken from: https://www.eco-stylist.com/how-sustainable-is-zara/

https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/zara-launches-sustainable-fashion-line-fall/22461

Ultimately,It is through this that we can appreciate H&M’s and Zara’s step towards making their brand more sustainable and ethically conscious. With this we can only hope that more fast fashion brands alike will feel more inclined to adopt this and carry this out into their own brands/labels.

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danish-mbespke · 4 years ago

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5 UNIQUE WAYS TO INCREASE THE LONGEVITY OF YOUR CLOTHES

Are you searching for tips on how to take complete care of your clothes, increase their longevity OR Save money on wardrobe maintenance?

When you possess an item you really like and that has been through many seasons, you would want it to last for as long as possible. But ironically many clothes are not intended to last long in our current fast-fashion age, and you will soon find yourself out of money and without your favorite piece if you do not take a thoughtful decision for your wardrobe purchases.

Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can adopt into your wardrobe maintenance to preserve the life of your clothes, keep them away from a landfill, and even help you save some money. Follow these 5 tips to enjoy your clothes for more years to come.

1. DO NOT OVER WASH

One of the most common problems we see is when people send their clothing items to laundry service and what happens is that all the garments have been over washed or simply, they are washed with same cycles as compared to dirtier clothes. Consequently, clothes become fragile due to constant over wash.

We recommend that you only wash clothing items when they really are dirty or cannot be used without a wash and to air recently worn garments to allow them to breathe where possible.

Washing at lower temperatures with a gentle cycle and natural laundry detergent can help keep your daily clothing items looking and feeling their best. We also recommend that you sort your laundry into delicate lights, pure whites, and darks, to preserve the color of your items otherwise one dark color can damage other light or white color item. I t can also prevent your clothes from snagging.

2. DO NOT BELIEVE IN “ONE TIME WEAR ONLY”

You probably have come across a special occasion where you feel a panic while deciding what to wear from your wardrobe, discounting a lot of them because you have already worn them. We have found out that that women of this era specially millennials have adopted a 'wear it once' approach to their wardrobe and a percentage as high as 33% of them consider clothes old after wearing them less than 3 times.

Forgetting about this fear of wearing an item once can really save you from the hardships of finding something new every time and allows you to enjoy the clothes that fit and appreciate you. If you really cannot bring yourself to wear something multiple times, then why not restyling it for a new look.

3. CHOOSE DESIGN FEATURES LIKE BUILT-IN ADJUSTABILITY

Built-in design features will help to promote comfort and achieve a flattering fit to your body SHAPE. Design features LIKE an elasticated waistband, extra buttons, or drawstring around the waist can increase the lifespan of an item because it will accommodate the fluctuations due to body weight. If you have any item of clothing you really love, you can get these features added in, so you can feel comfortable wearing it a multiple time.

4. INVEST IN HIGH-QUALITY FABRICS

If you are looking to make your wardrobe more sustainable then it is best to invest in clothes with high-quality fabrics and stitching with strong dyes and colors. Fabrics like merino wool which are made from long fibers, which means they will not break as easily as any other cheaper wool and will generally last longer. Buying the clothes, you love which are well built will ensure they stand the test of time and that you are committed to maintaining them with care.

5. REPAIR OR ALTER CLOTHES

When your clothes start giving signs of usage or seems out of fit, it can seem tempting to dispose them off to the back of your wardrobe and forget you ever worn them. However, if you repair and alter your clothes then it really saves you time and money as compared to replacing the whole deal. The key is to fix small problems before they become bigger like a small tear in the seam can extend to a bigger hole before you know it.

Let us Summarize if you want your clothes to last longer and look their best then there are a number of steps you can take: avoid washing them too often, change your mindset to praise every item you possess, choose clothes with built-in adjustability, invest in prime-quality fabrics, and repair or alter long unworn clothes. All these tips can help you get the most out of your selection and help save time and money.

https://www.danishmbespoke.com/

#Danishmbespoke Custom Clothing Bespoke Clothes Menswear Handmade Suits Tailoring Designer

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panspy · 5 years ago

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Case #0181501

ARCHIVIST

Statement of Eide Burrows, regarding a man who may not have been her neighbor, and her hometown of Millport, Scotland. Original statement delivered through some folded sheets of notebook paper shoved under the office door while I was on a lunch break. Statement recorded January 15, 2018, audio recording by Jonathan Sims, the Archivist.

Statement begins.

ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)

In the end, we’re all just shapes. Figures, either soft, angled, flat, or dimensional, all floating through space with only the hint of a purpose. I’ve always thought this made us pitiable. Shapes don’t have a purpose, their only use is to simply be. What is the meaning of a triangle? Any color, it doesn’t matter. How about a square? A dodecahedron? Exactly. It has no right to have that many sides all to itself, but it exists simply because we willed it into being. Shapes thinking of shapes.

Lines connect shapes and connect people. We have no reason to be, other than to just… exist. We think of shapes. Who thought of us? God, you could argue and many do. Argue about God, argue with God, argue in defense of God, argue against God. Argue, argue, argue. Just shapes arguing with shapes.

For the longest time, as far as I was concerned, Millport was nothing but shapes. Old buildings with new paint, old billboards with flashy new signs, old families run by new blood. Old ways and new people. They tried to cover up the old, and bury it like bones in a landfill. Cover it up along with the potholes with new asphalt and cement. Make it shiny and new. They still crack, anyway.

Hundreds of years, that town stood sturdy on soft ground. Founded by confident men with high hopes, big dreams, bigger egos, and empty pockets. Dreams make you blind, but people like to invest in them. Dreams give shapes a purpose, don’t they? Confidence fools others, and eventually fools yourself. Have you ever gone unnoticed in a place you’re not meant to be? If you walk with your head held high and false arrogance, people will believe you belong with them. For either to believe this façade makes them a fool. Not that anyone really belongs anywhere, and we’re all just foolish enough to believe it. Foolish shapes believing other foolish shapes.

I’ve always reckoned that it’s easier to be confident on uncertain legs than to fear falling on steady ground. Watching a frightened child stepping along a wide, even plank at the park is more likely to fall than a tightrope walker on a flimsy wire. Tightrope walkers are triangles, balanced and perfect. Children are parallelograms. Misshapen. Lopsided.

All the children in Millport are parallelograms. Some are flat and one dimensional, others forever rotating on an axis to show off their sides. Never the same for more than a day- I kept track. The adults were a variety of evolved and ever-changing polygons. But for some reason when I was little, looking at all these shapes going about their pretend lives, I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t a polygon when the world seemed to be filled with them. When I looked at my skin, it was soft and squished under touch. My hair was coarse, dull, and brown, unlike my mothers which was static with energy and never quite the same after you blinked. My face was asymmetrical too, as many shapes are. Eyes that seemed to be too big, ears that poke out a bit too much, bags that never went away… well, I don’t think they did anyways. You have to understand, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. After a childhood of feeling as though the world hadn’t been fair enough to make me a nice red square, I just accepted it. I learned not to mind my lack of shape, and felt content to be liminal.

The first time I decided to look further into what made the town fit together into the odd puzzle it was, was the Masonic Lodge on the empty lot of Seymour and Drummond. It was always changing, not that it mattered enough to give it a second thought. In the morning, it could be a red trapezoid but by noon it would shift into a cracked yellow octagon. Personally I always preferred the trapezoid. The men who entered in the evening but never seemed to exit in the morning were also known to change. Whether by name, appearance, age, or multitude… who went in did not dictate who went home. Not that anyone cared about that, either.

When I was feeling especially curious, I would watch them enter from the dim car park away from a flickering old street lamp. As nights went by and I felt brave enough to stand directly under it, I found it made no difference as they never even looked at my direction. By the morning, the cars would be gone and the men allegedly returned home to their spouses and families. And I would leave, deciding to return again at the next meeting whenever I felt the disturbing pull in my stomach beckoning me to witness it. The scheduled days varied, but was always twice a week starting at 8:12 pm and ending when the street light flickered, shrouding the building and parked vehicles in darkness, then flickering on again to show an empty lot. They never met on Tuesdays.

My mother worked down the street at the Birdie’s Bed & Breakfast to help Bertha Goodwin when the old woman needed assistance navigating the cottage she’d rented her whole life, it seemed like. Bertha, though we always called her Birdie, was in her late seventies when I was born, and she was in her late seventies when I left for college. She was still in her late seventies when I returned home the next fall with nothing to show for it and a mother who didn’t even acknowledge I had gone in the first place. Not that they even noticed when I was living with them as a child either. When they deemed me old enough to care for myself, Mum would leave in the mornings with a freshly ironed apron, cleaning supplies I never saw opened, and my Dad would leave to work on blueprints of buildings I never saw built. After staring at my ceiling for hours, distracting myself with faded stars stuck up with putty and cracks in the walls, I would leave my blue square of a house and wander the streets looking for a clue to a mystery I wasn’t quite sure existed.

I tried to be academic, I really did. I wanted to leave that old town and its jagged shapes and build something for myself, but the longer I spent away the pit in my stomach grew more and even looking in the mirror hurt my eyes. I couldn’t feel the softness of my skin anymore. It felt like plastic. The faces of my classmates were static and boring-- none of them pulsed with the same energy as the people back home and all sounded the same. After barely a year I couldn’t take it and moved back home. The school didn’t even call to finalize my resignation.

As a child who grew up with strange disappearances monthly (Birdie said Misses Morgan moved to the States, but her car still collected leaves in the drive), stores popping up that never seemed to stay, and the absence of new neighbors, nothing was too out of the ordinary for us. But I’ve read some of the other statements, Jon, and it seems nothing was quite ordinary at all. Construction workers would vanish and it would rarely make the papers. The opening of a new chip shop was a blessing, but no one would ever be able to go more than twice before it was on its way out of town and replaced with some new fad.

Until the year the cemetery flooded and the school gymnasium roof caved in, about 2006 (it’s hard to beep track of the years), I didn’t think extraordinary could exist. Or at least not in any way that mattered. That was the year the Abbott’s moved in to the house on Cowley Lane, a house I had only ever seen out of the corner of my eye. On a street filled with shapes, this was a straight line.

They arrived as most families do, escaping an unpleasant moment in time by “starting fresh” and “turning over a new leaf”. I never quite understood that expression, as turning over a new leaf does not negate the old one. By turning over a leaf with a sullied edge to admire the green underside, it still remains the same leaf. Turning over a new leaf simply means the old one is left to decompose while you find a crisp, untarnished leaf, while the other still has a perfectly acceptable side to be admired. And, as most families do, they leave the unsightly leaf to be buried with the hundreds of others they’ve “turned over” and promise to change. The promises stay, but are never quite redeemed. Sorry, I got carried away… it's hard to find things to be passionate about these days. I'll continue.

The Abbotts integrated as well as they could, two children ready to attend school no matter the construction work in the gym or the fact it was well into November, and a third to stay at home as infants are wont to do. They threw a barbecue to get to know the neighbors, and the whole village attended bringing their own family recipes and baked desserts. I stayed home.

The Abbott's father, Mark, gained a quick job as an iron-worker while his wife (I never knew her name) stayed indoors looking after the baby. I’d see him in the mine, hacking away at rusty cars and rail too old to use and loading the scraps to be taken away. Hours, I’d watch, as he compressed the piles and laid the new framework to keep unwanted visitors from being crushed to death by eroding stone walls. The day he was called to help install the new wrought iron fence where the cemetery flooded and washed away, I followed him there too. Wherever he went, the shapes that once filled the town lost their vibrancy. Instead of fluctuating between tetrahedrons and prisms, they became either stagnant or frantic. Everything at once, or nothing at all.

I watched him dig in the downtrodden soil, unearthing rectangular caskets and hexagonal coffins. The rain that year had brought landslides and sinkholes, most destructive in the cemetery just outside town and disturbing the dead where they slept. Headstones, monuments, and mementos washed away and sank into the soft dirt, the running fence encircling the land broken up and dragged along with it. Once an infinite circle that cut the burial grounds off from the rest of the puzzle, the shape was now distorted and wrong. Without gate to close and make it whole again, I felt the muted shape of the cemetery slip away and become a tangled mess of string.

He dug for hours until the orange circle of a sun lowered itself behind the branches of the forest and their quickly disappearing leaves. Moving from one plot to the other, from the pristine headstones of recent years down to the protruding stones with names barely legible beneath the moss and decades of wear. Digging, digging, digging, all the while the formless fence to-be remained untouched. When the sky turned dark and snow clouds threatened to shed their weight, I finally turned my back on Mark and left him alone with the dead for the first time all evening, the man seeming blissfully unaware he hadn’t been alone in the first place at all.

The next morning when I went to check on his new project, the buildings along the way had lost their shape. No longer were streets lined with sturdy trapezoids, rectangles, and prisms. The colors were off, like a child with a crayon who had not yet learned the concept of limitation. They bled into each other and polluted the air, cracked frames unable to hold them back. The air tasted like static and I couldn't feel the ground beneath my boots.

By the time I got to the clearing, the holes had been filled and the new fence had taken shape in towering columns that crawled and stretched like spider webs across the dying grass. It was the same dirt, the same stone, trees, and air, but it did not feel like the cemetery I had watched be torn away the night before. I felt a chill settle in my bones and leave as quickly as it came like waiting for pain after burning your finger on a hot mug. From all my observing of the town, never once has a feeling ever driven me to run far away until what I was seeing before me was but an afterthought.

I passed by the Abbotts house, static growing stronger until I could barely hear the crunch of leaves or gravel beneath my feet. Only the wife's car was in the drive and a fresh coat of snow indicated there had only been the one all night, and the black pick-up Mark drove was nowhere to be seen. The sign on their door was new, barely two months old, but as I looked at it, truly looked at it, did it appear to have aged to rot. Abbott’s House it said in curvy lettering (with all the determination of a line pretending to be something it’s not) with five handprints beneath for each family member. Five. Mother, three kids, and… now four. The longer I thought about it, the longer I stared, trying to blink away the dots that kept getting in the way of my vision, the more my eyes convinced me there had always been four. Never two cars, never five hands. Through my haze, I barely felt my feet take me home. Even when I layed down to rest in a foreign looking room, I decided that my childhood mystery, a fantasy I had grown to accept, had found another clue and a little bit more of the town chipped away. Mark didn’t show up for work anymore.

Little things were changing, it just took a trained eye to notice. You don’t have to be a detective to see the details, sometimes you just have to be very, very afraid. The sign for Birdies Bed & Breakfast was now spelled with a ‘y’ instead of an ‘i’, and the apron my mother wore was now a faded lilac instead of a robin’s egg blue. The oak tree that stood tall in our backyard, old as the town itself with a slow swinging hammock tied to the branches, was now a young birch. I likened it to two puzzles cut from the same machine. Different pictures with pieces that fit together only in the most literal sense. The longer I noticed, the more I wondered which puzzle was truly mine, and which one was slowly being replaced.

Each morning the static filled my nose, irritated my eyes, and clouded my ears with a soft dizzying hum that slowly drowned out my senses. The shapes that made up my entire world were broken, dull, and chipping away until everything I knew was muddled and loud.

It was only when I woke up in an empty room, no posters, cardboard boxes, or dirty clothes, I found my feet barely touched the floor. I felt weightless as I wandered down to the kitchen where Mum usually got ready, feeling as though the back of my eyes were filled with cotton. There were only two seats sat at the dining table, and when I tried to open my mouth to speak my tongue tasted like ash.

Before I could blink or even cry, suddenly I was in the street. Red shapes filled my periphery and everything between, and the town was gone. A red sky bled into the houses, cars, and potholes cremating them like the dead. I felt myself falling away from my body and I finally saw my shape. It was a shifting mass of angles and colors and somehow I just knew it was me. When I finally did cry, smaller shapes fell from her eyes copying the drops that fell from mine. Was it out of malice? Pity? Understanding? Was she crying because she shared my pain or was she just a cheap reflection of who I thought I was or simply longed to be?

It’s been a while since I’ve been here, in this black and red. She still mocks me. Radiant and pulsing with color while I exist with imitation soft skin and coarse hair. They’re the only things I can be sure of, as I haven’t seen my face in a long time. Only hers. Now I’m not sure who she is, but she’s the only company in this void. Until I saw your shape, Jon. Blue and black polygons blinking between colors with the beat of a foreign heart. You lead me here to a library of pain that reflected my own, a reprieve from the emptiness I’ve been floating in. Maybe if I tell you my story you can bring me back to the shape of your world? I suppose only time will tell, and I have an eternity to wait.

Waiting for someone to save the outline of a person who isn’t sure they ever existed at all.

#tma #the magnus archives oc #the magnus archives #tma oc #case fic #case file #statement #fan statement #tma fanfic #my writing #the spiral #podcast #eide burrows #fan case #jon sims #jonathan sims

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thoughtctrl2 · 4 years ago

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Shoppers Rewarded For Not Using Plastic Bags

Plastic bags have been a problem in terms of both littering and costs for recycling reasons, due to the fact that plastic bags can take up to, and over 200 years to decompose. In response to his there have been many initiatives in order to both reduce the amount of plastic bags used and the kind of materials that are used in their production. However, the simple problem with this is that the using of plastic bags and not reusing them is almost a culture thing. As a culture we think that since we have street cleaners, dustbins and landfills that it doesn't matter what we do with our rubbish, however, the truth is far removed and the government has started to step in. Boris Johnson, mayor of London has now brought forward a new proposal which may lead the way for the rest of the UK, but will the new imitative be well received or has Boris, once again, tripped himself up.

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The new initiative is to make London the first plastic-bag free zone, in order to do this supermarkets will be rewarded for not supplying plastic bags and shoppers will be sued for re using plastic bags. Although at first instance we may think that is a good idea, many people have voiced their concerns that in the end it will only be the companies that benefit. As you may suspect the reason that companies are able to sell us plastic bags at 1p or give them away free is simply because they make up the cost by increasing the prices on all their products. However, if this initiative does go forward will that mean that the prices of goods in the shops will go down or will they, as we suspect, keep the new found profit?

Further issues that have been raised is the fact that the 20% tax in bus fair should be reduced instead in order to encourage more people to take the bus rather than use the car, which would be more beneficial for the community. Although we have no answers we can easily assume that the reason why we are seeing the push down on plastic bags is simply that sending them to landfills costs the government too much money. Again though when we think about it, the money is actually coming from us, the tax payer, raising the question of whether or not our tax will go down or will the government become a secondary beneficiary to their new regime whilst we, the consumers and tax payers are left in the dark?

However, it would be fair to argue that we, as a community, should be looking to reduce our waste in order to preserve the environment. But as we all are already aware the world is already damaged and it will take a lot more ideas and much bigger chain of changes in order to even make a notable difference for the future. Maybe Wall-e has it right, we should build spaceships, leave earth and have robots repair the damage we have done and start all over again... or was the point of the movie for us not to damage the earth to that extent?

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threadandflourish · 4 years ago

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The 101 for Creating an Ethical Wardrobe

Do you know that 10 million pounds of clothing in the United States are dumped into landfills every year? Wouldn't it be great if we could open our closet doors, and stare into a sea of socially-conscious clothing made up of natural, sustainable fabrics, and know exactly where our clothing came from? We care about the food we eat, how much we exercise, and what beauty products we put on our face. Let's talk about what we are wearing. #whomadethis

Shop Small Big box retailers that carry the latest styles may have worked with several factories just to produce one article of clothing, let alone their whole spring collection - several very complicated supply chains are involved. With such complicated supply chains, it's hard for retailers to know whether their clothing is created by individuals in fair working conditions. Although we have come a long way with how large corporations are sourcing their merchandise, as consumers, it's important to take into consideration what we are supporting when we purchase an article of clothing. By shopping at smaller stores, you're supporting artisans and small business owners - not child labor or unsafe working conditions which is common when the supply chain is more complicated and difficult to follow. Plus, your purchase makes a bigger impact on the business overall. We get it. When your favorite white tee gets an ugly stain that isn’t going anywhere and you need to replace it, it’s easy to order from the retailer you’ve been shopping at since you graduated college - but consider it an opportunity to branch out! With online retailers becoming the prime way everyone is shopping right now, the playing field has been leveled. Take a chance on some lesser known stores. If you’re concerned about returns, check the shop’s return policy before you place your order. It’s fun to find new brands and also have something slightly different than what most people are wearing.

Shop Timeless Pieces That You Love Take a nod from Parisian women. They are notorious for having small, fashionable wardrobes with pieces standing the test of time. It’s very common for them to wear neutral colors. When they want to spice up their look they will, you guessed it, wear a scarf! (Okay and yes, totally shameless plug for FlourishBox right now). :-) By selecting high quality, timeless clothing over trendier pieces, you are not contributing to the landfill waste brought forth by fashion.

Shop Second Hand This one can be tough depending on what you are looking for but websites like Poshmark have made it easier to find second hand pieces that still have a lot of life left. If you want to decrease your carbon footprint, try purchasing something that’s already been used. Not to mention, you can get some great items for a steal!

Shop Fair Trade How could we leave this one out? As a company that strives to only provide items that are traded fairly, this one really stands out to us. Do you know what it means to be fair trade? If not, check out our FAQ section. Essentially, it means that items are bought from workers and artisans at fair amounts that equal a liveable wage. This is a term that you'll probably see on various foods when you go grocery shopping or to your nearest local coffee shop - there are lots of opportunities to purchase fair trade coffee (but that's a whole other post). In buying fair trade clothing, you are supporting individuals in their craft and trade by paying them fair wages instead of going to big box companies where workers may only receive a small percent for their labor.

Shop sustainability Synthetic fibers, like those found in polyester, can take up to 200 years to decompose. Not to mention that every time a synthetic article of clothing is washed, over 700 microfibers are released into the water. These end up inside of smaller fish, which end up in bigger fish, which end up in fishing nets, and well, ultimately in our food supply. This is really a big issue with a small name - Micro Waste. Additionally, synthetic fabrics require various methods of manufacturing and contribute to the greenhouse gases emitted from manufacturing. If you want to be more green, we recommend natural fabrics such as silk, organic cotton, alpaca, hemp, and even fabrics like Tencel, pineapple fiber and sustainable bamboo.

While we realize this is a lot to take in in just one post, we recommend just focusing on one of these areas to get started. Slowly, over time, you can begin to change your wardrobe and contribute to supporting companies that believe in sustainability, fair trade, and changing the world.

#fairtrade howto ethicalfashion fashionrevolution

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rgr-pop · 5 years ago

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LONG POST AIRING GRIEVANCES ABOUT DUMB SHIT IN BEAUTY COMMUNITY!!

oh my GOD. okay, so, small youtuber who is climbing. beloved by many small youtubers because she is a regular girl and very nice and FROM UPSTATE NEW YORK and has social justice interests, she also posts a lot of drama content and some people (including me tbh) really like the way she kind of ~~democratizes drama content. don’t @ me it’s whatever. reddit HATES her because her mother buys her a lot of makeup for her birthday (literally) and she is not into self-punishing no-buys which is the only thing people like right now very coincidentally (going on a no-buy is apparently how you end landfills).

this youtuber is fat and not conventionally pretty--I really hate even saying the latter because it is objectively not true and also an evil thing to say even nicely, but for example she is always talking about how she doesn’t really care that her lips are small and is not interested in overdrawing or “fixing” them, and getting flamed for it. in the community (the respectable arm of it, which is the rddt, where we are ostensibly not allowed to be like “she looks terrible”), where there is smoke there is fire, and “not skilled at makeup” + maybe some nebulous complaints about whininess = she is a fat girl, end her. (”rude” = black youtuber too much power, end her.)

i’m talking about sm*key gl*w whose name is hannah, hannah #1, i think it is interesting to contrast her with the other hannah that i talk about sometimes--i try not to talk about her too much because we sort of teechnically have real world social connections and, also, i just feel bad for her. i feel desperately bad for hannah #2, because she is in her thirties having lived in art communities and global urban centers but for the first time in her life having to reckon with things like--”it is not appropriate to talk about calories at dinner, etc.” that is the second hannah, and while she is sweet and interesting to many in the small youtube community precisely because she is very alien to them (has mfa), it’s very difficult to watch, and sometimes i think she is the most “toxic” youtuber i follow. she is not an originator in any way, but she found herself in the center of a so-called anticonsumerist movement in small beautube that is kind of taking over, which is related to but not exactly minimalism--you have probably heard me talk about this already, at length. a good example of this is that second hannah recently said in a video that she was thinking of doing a shopping “fast.” i don’t know how she became this person, and how she held onto this kind of personality in spite of being in lots of communities that i am also in or have friends in where i know that if you talked this way about dieting etc. at a social event, someone would probably softly scold you. she somehow insulated herself from this kind of learning, i don’t know, then she threw herself into beautube where a woman who maybe sort of likes art and writes poetry and has heard of “fair trade” before is an absolute anomaly, but that community--like literally, where people do liposuction and skinny teas!--has only encouraged this absolutely unreal nasty and BAD behavior. etc. i have a lot of feelings about this.

so first hannah is a fat girl who is not rich--we will get to that!--but spends her money primarily on makeup. people HATE her. second hannah is thin, possibly rich in family origin (i think she is) but basically your average working artist in life. she frames her so-called overconsumption not even precisely as an addiction but specifically as a lack of willpower that she also struggles with when it comes to sometimes eating sugar (really). both of these hannahs consume and talk about quite a lot of luxury makeup--second hannah is very openly committed to luxury purchase as part of her self-conception. second hannah sometimes goes on “shopping diets” though, so people praise her! it is evil.

above is the shit i hate day in and day out but the points below will have more to do with the screencap +...upstate new york, i guess. henceforth we are only talking about first hannah.

so this girl is from some kind of small town around rochester or syracuse--something up there. iirc she goes to a suny school i had never heard of (i looked it up and it is a “suny comprehensive college,” though i can’t remember if she transferred out of this school to a bigger school. but, as many of you know, sunys are cheap as hell and should be protected at all costs, this school costs well under half what my state school did, for residents anyway.) she is in her mid-twenties and not graduated yet, due to struggles she has had (and spoken openly about) as well as having gone to community college. they LOVE to bring up how she is too old to be a college student! she’s like...idk 24 or something. she is going to school to be a social worker in one of those accelerated programs, which she has found quite difficult (again, spoken openly about this) and which also requires, as many of you know!, lots of extra work, unpaid and paid. she said somewhere that she does not have student loans, but i don’t know if her parents paid for her college or just shouldered loans, or if she paid for it, or if it is all financial aid. (”not having student loans” is something that enrages people, ESPECIALLY when someone doesn’t have loans because they got need-based aid.) again, she probably had some financial catastrophes due to school failures (speaking from experience here), but: sunys is cheap as hell and there are a million reasons why someone could go to one and not be struggling with loans!

where was i...her parents. watching this has fascinated me! her dad was a school teacher and her mom is a social worker--absolutely public servant middle class. i thiiink (could be wrong) that her father retired already and ended up retiring from a principalship, so they were probably extremely comfortable by the time she was in college, but they are definitionally middle class. the biggest controversy around this youtuber is that for birthdays and christmas her mother goes fucking insane--probably spent two to four hundred dollars on her for her birthday. she talks about this all the time: her mother and her are very close and their hobby is shopping. people treat this like the bougiest fucking thing on earth and it is ba nanas. straight up, this girl has probably never even HEARD of anthropologie. listen, i can’t afford to live like her either but i recognize poor shopping when i see it. working class people like to blow their money on bullshit and to take issue with that is demonstrably racist and classist! i will not hear this conversation over again in 2019. for example, hannah made a video about her “high end bag” collection, in which she said she got a bcbg bag on sale for like $30 but had never heard of the brand before. she had once been gifted a kate spade bag and her DREAM was to purchase one on her own. she buys coach at the local coach outlet, which is a regional attraction. THIS GIRL IS NOT BOUGIE! THEY ARE JUST MAD THAT SHE OWNS CLOTHES AND IS ALSO FAT! she did a closet tour where she talked about how she has like 50 crop tops, they were ALL like forever 21. they are just mad about fat girl in crop tops. there is nothing to see here! does she have too much shit, and shop too much? sure. welcome to flyover country you dumb bitches. that is what I think about that!

so, she definitely makes money on youtube, but mostly enough to sustain youtube and makeup buying (possibly some savings? unsure. i know she said this in a video but i forget.) she has lived with this boyfriend of hers for a number of years and they are building a life together that doesn’t immediately include marriage, probably largely for financial reasons. i get the sense that his jobs pay a lot of their bills, but he just finished getting a teaching MA of some kind (i think he is a math teacher? i already forgot) and is entering the regular teaching job market. based on some of the following i think his parents might be wealthier than hers but i think they might also be teachers. as you can see in the screenshot above, people are enraged at this girl for apparently being a gold digger for getting a house with him before they are married!

people are SO pissed that she was “able to buy a house” at age 25, but they did not watch the video! in which she said that they had been dealing with the death of her bf’s step grandpa all year, and the family had decided that they should take over the step grandpa’s house. (step grandpa’s family does sound “richer” because, according to her, this house had been owned by a GREAT grandparent and paid off decades ago.) her descriptions of this house are confusing to me because she keeps referring to it as both “old” and “from the eighties,”; I think it is an actually old house that had not been “updated” since the eighties. seems like the family did not “gift” it to them as much as sign it over to them in exchange for them being the ones to take out the renovation loans, which allegedly she said are $50k. unclear to me if she and her bf got approved for that loan--probably not, I think it was taken out in the family’s name. ($50k is too much to put into a house in rochester imooo but I am reserving my judgment there! rochester has a very flyover housing economy, much like ours, but with a much higher end, I think?)

so anyway, these vultures are sociopaths. “ Who gives someone a house no matter how much they like them? That seems wild to me” ...p-parents? dead grandparents? is your will gonna be like “my kid has to buy their OWN house like i did!” who are these people

YES SOMETIMES YOU STOP NEEDING YOUR HOUSE, WHEN YOU DIE

anyway I’m done. I just thought this thing would be of interest in particular to the upstate new yorkers. the whole condition of the indebted working-middle class is just like inconceivable to people who consume only ideologically pure content by wealthy west coast whites all day long

#makeupblogger fandom

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molomama-blog · 5 years ago

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How to Choose Ivory Coast Evisa

https://ru.ivisa.com/ivory-coast-e-visa

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Nationals of some countries do not require a visa to go to Ivory Coast. The cost of getting a Vietnamese visa isn't significant. If you wish to stay more than 15 days in Vietnam, you'll need visa.

You should also think about checking with your transport provider or travel company to be sure your passport and other travel documents satisfy their requirements. It is presently being taken to a landfill website. Permanent residents cannot register to vote.

Assuming your design is currently mobile ready. If you are really injured, emergency care might not be available or might not meet US standards. All you have to do is locate the route that's ideal for you.

| The bigger cities have international hotels, and you may discover a hotel for all budgets. The rural regions, but do not offer you too many choices. There's additionally a public Zoo.

Aside from the exception stated above, Visitors aren't permitted to participate in any business or employment. There is a superb selection of hotel accommodations in Abidjan. Taxis can be found in main cities, but are inclined to be in bad mechanical condition.

The nation's economy is merely among the most developed in sub-Saharan Africa. Vietnamese visas are comparatively straightforward to apply. A trip to Vanuatu first to find conditions at first hand is strongly suggested.

It isn't merely the state that has to act. The water, on the flip side, ought to be avoided if it's tap. There's an internet taxi booking service run by Africab, whose service is becoming more and more common.

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The Hidden Treasure of Ivory Coast Evisa A large Ivorian cell phone provider now provides the song for a ring tone free of charge. Lots of people drown annually. Tons of individuals drown annually.

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You are then going to be required to finish your Canadian Visa Application within 60 days of getting your letter and the procedure will take about 4-6 months to be processed. The whole procedure is handled online and it really is quite fast and uncomplicated. Western African food is dominated by various types of stews.

For a lot of cases the present application is undeniably functional only after authentication. If applying for a business visa, you'll need to supply a business letter and the documents mentioned in the aforementioned paragraph. It is important that you provide every bit of information requested in the application form, otherwise the application is going to be rejected.

| There are a lot of visa alternatives available for those who wish to migrate permanently to Australia and who have the essential skills and qualifications. The whole procedure is handled online and it really is quite fast and uncomplicated. Western African food is dominated by various types of stews.

Funerals are central to a lot of ethnic groups. After preparation is done, you submit and await the results. Share this information with friends and family.

When you sign your DS-160 electronically, you're certifying that the entire information inside it's true and correct. Charge cards are accepted just in top-end establishments. Instructions on the best way to take part in this completely free webinar.

You might also be requested to demonstrate your visa or other documentation enabling you to legally put in your destination at any moment in your trip. It is presently being taken to a landfill website. In any situation it's imperative that you contact the Chicago consulate directly to find out which consular services they give.

Assuming your design is currently mobile ready. If you are really injured, emergency care might not be available or might not meet US standards. Follow basic security tips.

But What About Ivory Coast Evisa? Throughout that moment, the population is predicted to grow from 26,171,750 to 51,375,178. The nation produces more cocoa than every other place on the planet. You must show evidence of your sufficient ties to your residence country.

You might have to scour your application on a cell screen to be certain that the experience is consistent and frustration free for your intended users. There are a number of ways to increase your CRS score as a way to enhance your odds of success in the application process, ie. Another issue to know about is carjacking and it's helpful to bear this in mind as carjackers have a tendency to attack at stoplights.

Ivory Coast Evisa - Overview In spite of the instability, Ivory Coast is the world's biggest exporter of cocoa beans and its citizens enjoy a comparatively high degree of income, in contrast to other nations in the area. Vietnamese visas are comparatively straightforward to apply. When you enter the nation, it's best in case you have US dollars since they're more common and can be exchanged easily.

Ivory Coast isn't among the safest nations in the Earth, or in Africa for that issue. The West African American Embassy is situated in Abidjan. Many drownings occur every year.

New Questions About Ivory Coast Evisa Citizens of the usa is now able to apply to have a tourist visa online. For these countries there isn't any need to purchase your visa beforehand. As a result, if you're likely to put in an application for a Vietnamese visa, it is far better ask for a minimum of 10 days before departure to prevent unexpected risks.

It's not clear whether both incidents are linked. At the current time, Ivory Coast citizens can submit an application for a Vietnamese visa by applying straight to the Vietnamese embassy or applying for a web-based visa. If your place doesn't have a Vietnamese embassy or consulate, you should submit an application for an internet visa.

As an extra bonus, you are going to receive an extra 600 points to grow your CRS score, which will provide you with a leg up in the Express Entry draws and pretty much guarantees you will get an ITA for permanent residency. All nationalities are qualified for the eVisa and the application only requires a couple of minutes. If you wish to stay more than 15 days in Vietnam, you'll need visa.

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frigfridge · 5 years ago

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just finished rewatching toy story 1 thru 3 over the past few days, wanted to share my thoughts:

i love these movies a whole lot. the first 2 hold a bunch of nostalgia for me because i was A Baby when 2 came out and when i was also A Baby i would just watch our VHS copy of toy story 1 over and over again. this also makes me the exact age group to be emotionally destroyed by toy story 3, which came out just as i was entering high school and hit really close to home

individual thoughts:

toy story: the first thing i noticed was it still looks really nice even watching in 2019!! which i think is kind of spectacular for the first feature-length computer-animated film. it no doubt helps that the plot is mostly focused on little plastic dolls without realistic hair or clothing to animate but the semi-”cartoon” art direction means the human characters also look pretty nice without going too far into the uncanny valley.

also, the plot is WAY darker than i remember?? not because of sid and all the body horror toys, but because for like half of the movie woodys friends think hes an actual (toy) murderer carrying around the severed arm of his victim (!!) like, its hilarious, but also wow theres a LONG way to go between there and the climax of toy story 3.

the soundtrack is probably my favorite of the bunch. part of that is probably nostalgia but i just really like the consistency of having randy newman singing every song. it sort of elevates him to part of the story, like an omniscient narrator singing woodys (and later buzzs) inner monologue. 2 (and especially 3) didnt have as many musical numbers, which i can understand with a shift to a larger-scale approach to storytelling, but i really like the feeling it gives number 1. “you got a friend in me” is an obvious classic thats been remixed and brought back in just about every piece of toy story media im aware of, but “strange things” and “i will go sailing no more” deserve just as much recognition and praise. there just isnt a weak number among them

toy story 2: heres where the story started getting bigger and more existential, which basically becomes the new direction of the series. which makes sense! this one released 4 years after the first, and while theres no real timeskip in the story (maybe 6 months?) it had been a little while since we last saw woody and the gang. everybody in the real world had gotten older, and with the turn of the millennium approaching, the theme of impermanence loomed large in the collective unconscious. well, maybe not in my unconscious, because i was 2. but its really interesting as kind of a “time capsule” to what people were thinking about as the 90s came to a close.

so toy story 2 was a little more grounded, a little more focus on the human world, but it was also more fantastical in its presentation. the opening “video game” sequence (which still looks amazing!!) and woodys nightmare (”i dont wanna play with you anymore...”) show the animators at pixar really found their groove and started getting experimental. and to great result!! the fantasy sequences are a lot of fun and help 2 really stand out.

i would be remiss not to mention jessies flashback song here. its something else they hadnt really done in the first film and i think it really works. jessie in this film unfortunately doesnt get to do much other than fight with woody about whether he should stay or go (except for when she saves him in the end) but this song makes her character work. it also helps that it destroys me every time

also i think this is the movie that gave me an appreciation for the acting of kelsey grammer. i dont really agree with his politics (i also dont know specifically what they are) but he is a damn fine actor and gives the prospector a very genuinely intimidating edge after his heel turn. the casting really makes the character here, but thats nothing new for toy story-- every voice works. if i were the casting director, i probably wouldnt have pulled erudite kelsey grammer for a character named “stinky pete,” but as it is now i couldnt imagine him voiced by anyone else.

the last thing about toy story 2 is it feels like there were a lot more pop culture references? at least as far as i noticed. there are apparently even more than i noticed but i caught on to the “also sprach zarathustra” riff in the opening, and the jurassic park rearview mirror gag. and of course the extended star wars reference with zurg vs. utility belt buzz (and i guess zurg in general.) the references are cute and mostly unobtrusive but really i could take or leave them.

oh yeah also al is hilarious. just this rude, neurotic businessman whos incredibly self-important for the owner of a minor(?) toy store chain. hes such a puffed-up jerk, every time hes on-screen is a delight

toy story 3: this one kills me to death. i always get misty-eyed during “when somebody loved me” but the ending of 3 where andy introduces his toys to bonnie and plays with them one last time made me sob the first time i watched it. and it still does! thats the long game right there, thats the payoff of over 10 years loving these characters. its an emotional ketchup bomb, everything gets all messy and soggy and sweet. hopefully 4 can follow up, but im not really worried about that-- ive heard some good things. damn, its been 9 years since this movie came out, though! it really doesnt feel all that long, but i guess i havent been doing all that much

i actually dont know if i have much else to say about 3. the opening with the re-imagining of the previous films openings (woody versus one-eyed bart, buzz and woody vs. the evil dr. porkchop) is a highlight, although theres a conspicuous lack of bo peep. ive heard she has a big part in 4, but it was kind of weird to see a lot of toys missing and their absence (mostly) glossed over after the first few minutes. i miss r.c. and lenny, but i get they wanted to narrow down the cast so all of them could get in on the plot.

speaking of which, the escape scene is great too. its kind of a crystallizing moment of how close these characters are, and how well they work together. it reminds me a lot of the escape from sids house in the first movie, but there woody was working with sids body-horror toys and seemed to strike up a rapport with them bizarrely quickly. (speaking of which, i miss those toys! their designs were super cool, but i cant imagine they got much merchandise, especially babyface with the sharp, metal spider legs.) here, though, woody and the gang cooperate the best they ever have, and it really paints a picture of how close theyve become over the years, and justifies the emotional climax in the landfill. this is what i was talking about when i said i was surprised how dark toy story 1 got! these toys all hated woodys guts back then for what they thought he did to buzz. they kicked him out of a moving truck! its just weird to think about that conflict between them when you know how long they end up sticking together. but thats, like, neat, so its ok. it feels earned, its just kind of crazy in hindsight.

toy story 3 was also obviously made long after the first two-- by comparison, the lighting is way more sophisticated, the humans are a lot more detailed. theres just a lot more detail In General. the main cast is, like, super dirty for the middle 90% of the film, and it feels like, yeah, We Have This Technology Now. we can render so many individual glitter sprinkles suck to hamms ass and they will be in every single scene. the “fur tech” on lotso and buster is also an obvious clue, especially in the flashback to lotso trudging through the rain back to his owners house. its like “look! we can make this teddy bear SO wet!” and wow! yeah! you did! so wet!

lotso himself is also an interesting villain in terms of sheer bastardness. he is just a huge jerk. he could have hit that button so easily! and he was so mean to the baby! but at the same time hes a great character in how he slowly “changes” throughout the movie. he is kind of an obvious “pixar ‘twist’ villain” but again, the amazing performance by ned beatty really saves him. also he does get a nice comeuppance at the end, which was necessary because hes really the biggest villain in the series so far. hes knowingly malicious and doesnt have any greater motive, hes just an embittered megalomaniac who (apparently) has sent other toys to be broken, thrown away, and incinerated at the landfill. he honestly deserves worse than being strapped to the front of a truck but it works for a family movie.

i have a couple more thoughts on 3 (i guess i did have a fair amount of stuff to say about it) but im getting tired of writing. the music is good as usual, but the vocal stuff being entirely back-loaded (in the credits) is a bit disappointing since ive always been a fan of the songs, but i get that they were going for something different. the jokes about ken being, uh, ‘flamboyant’ felt out of place, mostly the one at the end (”uh, buzz? barbie didnt write this”) because it comes from one of the gang and not unnamed lotso goon #3, but i guess its pretty tame in the scheme of things.

overall im really looking forward to seeing what 4 does with the series. whew!

#hopefully ill see 4 this weekend #personal essay #got pretty honkin long. click at your own risk

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