#are they dumping it in the recycler. composting it

[clonerightsagenda]

Ok genuine and mildly upsetting question, for at least some of the surgeries large portions of the subjects' bodies are being removed and replaced (pretties get new teeth and their fat sucked out, iirc specials get entirely new muscles and bones) and the cities are very eco-conscious with a goal of recycling and not leaving much of a footprint on the planet so...... what are they doing with all that

[particleseparationroom]

getting too mad about biodegradable plastics sighing filling the spray bottle with cold water

[practicalsolarpunk]

Hi, I've only just got into solarpunk and find it really cool.

I was wondering, what sort of simple lifestyle changes would you suggest to start with when trying to live in a more solarpunk/sustainable way?

Hi! So glad you're getting into solarpunk! We think it's pretty cool, too, and we're happy you're looking for ways to integrate it into your life. Since you haven't included anything specific about your situation or what you're interested in, this list is pretty general - if you want more specific ideas, feel free to send in another ask!

In the meantime, here are a few recommendations for getting started:

Grow something. Depending on your situation, you may not be able to put in a huge outdoor garden. But there are many plants that will be perfectly happy in a pot on a windowsill, and still others that are happy to grow in low-light situations. Find something that works for your space and get some hands-on experience with growing things. (If you have a window, I highly recommend herbs - many of them are happy in pots and there's something incredibly satisfying about eating things you've grown.)

Compost. Unless your space is extremely tiny, you probably have room for a small composting system. Some can even go under a sink or in a closet. See this post for a general discussion, this post for vermicomposting ideas, and this one for info on bokashi composting. Also check out our #compost tag.

Mending. Mending is a great skill to have. The life of most clothing (and a lot of non-clothing fabric items) can be extended dramatically with some basic sewing skills. I've made entire dresses and quilts and I still find most of my sewing is repairing and mending other stuff. We have a mending tag, but I also love YouTube for this. Searching "how to mend X" (e.g. "how to mend hole in crotch of jeans") gives you a bunch of awesome tutorials. You can get even more use out of things if you're willing to embrace visible mending.

Reduce energy use. Try to use natural light where you can. Set your thermostat high in summer and low in winter and use the principle "heat/cool the person, not the space." Flush the toliet with graywater by removing the p-trap from your sink and dumping the collected wash water into your toilet tank (or directly into the bowl if you have an American-style greedy cup siphon toilet). Experiment with solar energy. What you can do depends on your situation, but see what kind of options you have.

Integrate the 7 R's: There are more R's to sustainable living than just "Reduce Reuse Recycle". See this post for a primer.

Build community: One of the foundations of solarpunk is that it's about community. Even if you start out doing it by yourself, eventually you need a community to do bigger things. My favorite way to start is by meeting the neighbors. Taking over some food (cookies are great) and introducing yourself is a great way to open a relationship. We also have a community building tag for more ideas.

You can find even more ideas in these tags, depending on what you specifically want to do:

#apartment solarpunk

#dorms and small spaces

#community building

#activism

#fiber crafts

#diy

There's also some additional tips in this post and this post, which are earlier responses to similar asks.

I hope this helps! Followers, feel free to chime in with your best tips!

- Mod J

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - October 22-28

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles on Patreon!

1. Industrial wastelands to wildlife oases: Five nature wins that have actually worked

“[An archipelago in the Indian ocean] experienced a major whale comeback after signing up to a debt for nature swap[….] In Sri Lanka's capital of Colombo, local efforts have transformed what was once a rubbish dump to a wetland teeming with [wildlife….]”

2. Louisville launches America’s first 100% electric garbage truck fleet

““These innovative EV collection trucks will fulfill our trash, compost and recycling needs, reduce noise pollution, and include larger windshields to increase each driver’s field of vision and lower greenhouse gas emissions[….]” [The trucks are equipped with] audible devices that alert nearby drivers and pedestrians to compensate for their quieter operations.”

3. How a nearly extinct crocodile species returned from the brink in Cambodia

“By the late nineties, [Siamese crocodiles] were thought to be extinct. […] Today there are about 1,000 Siamese crocodiles in the wild[….] The first crocodiles were reintroduced into the wild in 2012 and they have begun breeding in the wild: over a hundred eggs were discovered in the forests in July, the most so far.”

4. Before his death, this conservative combat veteran filmed a PSA advocating for his transgender son

““Eric [“a conservative South Carolina U.S. Army combat veteran and father of a transgender child”] believed in the importance of freedom for trans kids — the right to live authentically and without fear,” [his widow] said. “He saw this not as a political issue but as a human one, recognizing that every child deserves the chance to thrive and feel whole.”” [Curator’s note: obviously, utmost condolences to Eric’s family; I’m including this as good news because it’s impactful to see a respectable member of the political party more often known for transmisia instead publicly advocating for his son’s human - not just political - rights]

5. Azores to create largest Marine Protected Area in North Atlantic – and a 'blueprint' for the rest of the world

““The Azores’ waters are a hotspot for marine life, hosting a third of the world's whale and dolphin species,[…” and harbouring] “cold-water corals and sponge fields that act as nurseries and feeding grounds for countless species, from deep-sea sharks to commercially valuable fish stocks.””

6. ‘It’s a big lever for change’: the radical contract protecting Hamburg’s green space

“Citizen power forced Germany’s greenest city-state into a binding agreement balancing housing and nature[….] The authorities signed an agreement with the citizen’s initiative to protect 30% of Hamburg’s land area – 10% as untouchable nature reserves and 20% with a looser conservation status – and ensure the share of public green space in the city rises over time.”

7. Behind the Scenes at the Federal Bee Lab Powered by Native Plants

“Once native plants reappeared at the lab, he says, the impact was dramatic. In the first year, many of the region’s 200 native bee species arrived in droves. [… B]irds Droege had never before seen on the premises began to turn up to feed on the native plant seeds[….]”

8. Atlanta neighborhood hired case manager to address rising homelessness. It's improving health and safety for everyone

“Michael Nolan, an Intown Cares social worker, is trained in an approach that emphasizes individual autonomy and dignity, recognizes that being homeless is a traumatic experience, and prioritizes access to housing. [… H]iring a social worker has enabled East Atlanta Village to resolve conflicts gently, through conversation and negotiation.”

9. Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nests Make a Remarkable Comeback in Greece

“As long-lived and migratory species, [loggerheads] contribute to the health of seagrass beds and coral reefs, which are vital habitats for many marine organisms. Their nesting activities also contribute to beach ecosystems and help promote biodiversity.”

10. Rapid genome analysis of a Whippet sighthound sets new standard for biodiversity research

“[Scientists] have sequenced and analyzed the complete genome of a Whippet sighthound in less than a week. […] Rapid analysis is increasingly important for the conservation of endangered species, [… giving] insights into their biological relationships, evolution and adaptations to environmental conditions.”

October 15-21 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[wachinyeya]

https://news.ku.dk/all_news/2024/06/researchers-invent-one-hundred-percent-biodegradable-barley-plastic/

From the article; Enormous islands of it float in our oceans and microscopic particles of it are in our bodies. The durability, malleability and low cost of plastics has made them ubiquitous, from packaging to clothing to aircraft parts. But plastics have a downside. Plastics contaminate nature, are tough to recycle and their production emits more CO2 than all air traffic combined.

Now, researchers at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences have invented a new material made from modified starch that can completely decompose in nature – and do so within only two months. The material is made using natural plant material from crops and could be used for food packaging, among many other things.

"We have an enormous problem with our plastic waste that recycling seems incapable of solving. Therefore, we’ve developed a new type of bioplastic that is stronger and can better withstand water than current bioplastics. At the same time, our material is one hundred percent biodegradable and can be converted into compost by microorganisms if it ends up somewhere other than a bin," says Professor Andreas Blennow of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences.

Only about nine percent of plastic is recycled globally, with the rest being either incinerated or winding up in nature or dumped into enormous plastic landfills.

Bioplastics already exist, but the name is misleading says Professor Blennow. While today’s bioplastics are made of bio-derived materials, only a limited part of them is actually degradable, and only under special conditions in industrial composting plants.

"I don't find the name suitable because the most common types of bioplastics don't break down that easily if tossed into nature. The process can take many years and some of it continues to pollute as microplastic. Specialized facilities are needed to break down bioplastics. And even then, a very limited part of them can be recycled, with the rest ending up as waste," says the researcher.

Starch from barley and sugar industry waste

The new material is a so-called biocomposite and composed of several different substances that decompose naturally. Its main ingredients, amylose and cellulose, are common across the plant kingdom. Amylose is extracted from many crops including corn, potatoes, wheat and barley.

Together with researchers from Aarhus University, the research team founded a spinoff company in which they developed a barley variety that produces pure amylose in its kernels. This new variety is important because pure amylose is far less likely to turn into a paste when it interacts with water compared to regular starch. Cellulose is a carbohydrate found in all plants and we know it from cotton and linen fibers, as well as from wood and paper products. The cellulose used by the researchers is a so-called nanocellulose made from local sugar industry waste. And these nanocellulose fibers, which are one thousand times smaller than the fibers of linen and cotton, are what contribute to the material’s mechanical strength.

"Amylose and cellulose form long, strong molecular chains. Combining them has allowed us to create a durable, flexible material that has the potential to be used for shopping bags and the packaging of goods that we now wrap in plastic," says Andreas Blennow.

The new biomaterial is produced by either dissolving the raw materials in water and mixing them together or by heating them under pressure. By doing so, small 'pellets' or chips are created that can then be processed and compressed into a desired form.

Thus far, the researchers have only produced prototypes in the laboratory. But according to Professor Blennow, getting production started in Denmark and many other places in the world would be relatively easy.

"The entire production chain of amylose-rich starch already exists. Indeed, millions of tons of pure potato and corn starch are produced every year and used by the food industry and elsewhere. Therefore, easy access to the majority of our ingredients is guaranteed for the large-scale production of this material," he says.

Could reduce plastic problem

Andreas Blennow and his fellow researchers are now processing a patent application that, once it has been approved, could pave the way for production of the new biocomposite material. Because, despite the huge sums of money being devoted to sorting and recycling our plastic, the researcher does not believe that it will really be a success. Doing so should be seen as a transitional technology until we bid fossil-based plastics a final farewell.

"Recycling plastic efficiently is anything but straightforward. Different things in plastics must be separated from each other and there are major differences between plastic types, meaning that the process must be done in a safe way so that no contaminants end up in the recycled plastic. At the same time, countries and consumers must sort their plastic. This is a massive task that I don’t see us succeeding at. Instead, we should rethink things in terms of utilizing new materials that perform like plastic, but don’t pollute the planet," says Blennow.

The researcher is already collaborating with two Danish packaging companies to develop prototypes for food packaging, among other things. He envisions many other uses for the material as well, such as for the interior trims of cars by the automotive industry. Though it is difficult to say when this biofriendly barley-based plastic will reach the shelves, the researcher predicts that the new material may become a reality in the foreseeable future.

“It's quite close to the point where we can really start producing prototypes in collaboration with our research team and companies. I think it's realistic that different prototypes in soft and hard packaging, such as trays, bottles and bags, will be developed within one to five years," concludes Andreas Blennow.

[corvidist]

A slightly dry dinner in northern Antarctica. Although meals are secondary to snacking throughout the day, they are still social events for the community. In part because of the beak notch, most cultures tend to eat dryer food earlier in the day and then less solid food later on. Friends will tend to gather when they eat, and out of all meals, dinner becomes a significant social occasion resulting from the large number of Directors heading back to sleeping areas/recreation and such after eating and cleaning off. Much of the food is served in what it was made in, though not all of it. Water is regularly dumped out and refilled. This being one of the first groups to arrive since the area was cleaned, there isn't much in the way of spillage, but there will be.

The beak notch:

It was smaller in the past, and its slow expansion has been attributed to the increased necessity of tool use. It's not large enough to prevent adequate food/water intake, but it does mean that some will inevitably spill out. When this actually became a problem for sanitation as larger communities developed, it became common for eating areas to have floor mats dedicated to collecting what drops down that and are then washed afterward, having them on platforms so the food can be dropped down, or a mix of both.

Recycling:

In the past, they've used food waste as biomass for insect farms/compost. It is also now used to help with biotech cultivation.

As a community activity:

Meals contribute quite a bit to daily life since communities tend to eat in the same place as a social activity. Wake up, eat a fairly dry snack with water, and start the day, with meals typically getting less dry and drinks more flavorful as the day goes on. At least one large meal is often had in the evening where most of the community gathers at once and groups interact, share gossip, and otherwise just chill for a bit. After that, most will head to communal bath houses where they'll clean up before dispersing again, either to sleep for the night or begin community nighttime functions.

Bragging to the other collectives about how many dead things they harvested from the biomass pile but then the engineering collective challenges the plant ag collective to a platform duel for fun (king of the hill but the platform is suspended like 50 feet in the air) so like half the group breaks off and the sanitation collective gets angry and starts scolding them because the fuckers just made their job 10 times more difficult by making a mess everywhere because they tried to take their food out of the eating area to watch without making prior arrangements.

[solarishashernoseinabook]

12, 22 and 24! ❤️

thanks star!!

12. what’s some good advice you want to share? Sometimes, doing a job at all means doing it "wrong". And I don't mean relatively minor things like "sitting down to cook/do the dishes", I mean actively wrong. As an example: When I moved back home, I had some old tinned food. As I had to leave the apartment on a time limit and was feeling overwhelmed, I just put everything in boxes and brought it home with me, and only stared unpacking the items slowly. And as it turned out, when I got around to it, those old tinned foods had expired. What to do? Well, I had to get rid of it. The "right" way to do it would be to open the tins, put the food contents in the compost bin, wash the tins, and put the tins in recycling. But that...was not happening. It was too much work. Plus I really, really don't like old food, even if it's technically "safe". So I left those tins alone for a while because they needed too much work to dispose of properly. But, well, the tins still needed to go. Finally, I gave myself permission to do the job wrong. I put all the tins in a plastic garbage bag and took it out one morning to go to the dump. It was undoubtedly the "wrong" way to do it - I hadn't composted any food or recycled anything - but also, the job was simply not going to get done the right way. Sometimes, you just have to let yourself do something unequivocally "wrong", if getting it done would improve your life (however marginally).

22. say 3 things about someone you love My bestie of 25 years holy shitbags is like the ONLY person i never get RSD around, she worked hard as hell to get her bachelors in quantum physics even though she's got severe and unmedicated ADHD, and she's built a happy and supportive relationship with her husband despite having a lot of unhealthy relationships beforehand. she's awesome i love her so much ❤

24. what’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for? I've developed a lot of methods for dealing with executive dysfunction :3

Link to the ask game if you want to play!

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Trials of Adulthood

I did my due diligence adulting today. It was not fun, but I did it.

Not just talking about work, though that was a nightmare, since I'm still being left the Annoyances - the new ones, the word salad ones, the ones who dictate the long and complicated shit. We've got more trainees than ever, and I'm the only one putting on a bit of speed to compensate. It's a fucking mess. Also, I might have mentioned at one point that we're having a bit of an issue with some of our reports not finding their way onto the systems they're supposed to, which results in me getting bombarded by requests to send large numbers of reports over to various people who should just be able to log in and get the reports themselves but can't because of said IT issues. I first got wind of that months ago, and we still keep getting them because IT have apparently still not sorted this shit out. All these requests are forwarded to me to deal with - apparently that is just my job now, and I'm not sure why because I'm also the fastest typist and that's fiddly shit a monkey could do. Then again, it's also the kind of thing that Temp and Goblin at least would bitch about having to do, and I don't imagine New Girl is much better. Basically I get all the stuff that would cause the others to complain, since Scruffman is so conflict-adverse and the others seem to be of the opinion that certain work is beneath them or something, I don't know. Anyway, the absolute worst part of that massive list was that two of the reports weren't complete. Our side - the macroscopic reports - had been typed no problem. But the consultants who are supposed to look through a microscope and do the proper diagnosis somehow missed those two. One of them was an urgent case, and both of them were from two weeks ago. So yeah, still suffering the end result of being the only person in the entire fucking office willing to actually do my fucking job - Scruffman's a manager who won't manage, the other girls will whinge and moan about any secretarial duties that they can't blitz through and look like they've done a lot, the consultants managed to miss two cases, and IT can't even be bothered to fix a major issue with a key part of our role.

(Oh, and that annual review that was supposed to happen last week has not been mentioned, probably because we're insanely busy due to unexpected absences, too many trainees, and miscellaneous crap. But I did have to acknowledge that I had access to fifty-seven documents on our training system, most of which mean zilch to me because they're not a part of my job or they require being in the office to matter worth a shit. That was fun.)

Anyway, then there was the bins. Our local borough council apparently had a brilliant idea. Every household has a separate little bin for food waste, which we all have to dump in a smallish communal wheelie-bin outside. There are issues with this. The main one is the local wildlife - the management company that runs my block of flats has been telling us time and time again that we have to be careful not to overfill the dumpsters because it lets in vermin (more foxes than rats, though we do have rat traps around the outside of the property). Now we have these little-by-comparison plastic wheelie-bins that are routinely knocked over by middling-strong winds, and could easily be knocked over by a determined urban fox. To add to that, plastic bags aren't allowed (they're obviously going to dump this stuff directly into compost), so it's very obvious from the smell that there's food waste in there after awhile. Of course, when I went to dump my little food waste bin into the wheelie-bin, I saw two small plastic bags full of stuff in there, so there's the other problem - people aren't going to follow the guidelines anyway. But the worst part for me is the whole thing where I am disabled and this makes taking out the garbage even harder. That's three separate loads of stuff - the reusable bag of recycling, the food waste bin, and the rubbish that doesn't fall into either category. Given that one hand is engaged with a cane, that's up to three trips on a bad day. Plus the little food waste bin has to be emptied more often, that's more trips - and while I can take the lift down to the ground floor to avoid one set of stairs, I have to go up a fairly steep upgrade just to get to the shed where the dumpsters live. (And no, no one's smart enough to put the food waste wheelie-bin into the dumpster shed to maybe keep more foxes out.) Add to that the fact that every kitchen in this block of flats is tiny as hell and even squeezing in a garbage can at all is a struggle, this is one more bit of bullshit I don't need. I'm about yay close to figuring out if I can just start my own compost bin outside. At least there'd be fewer fucking stairs.

But I did it! I took out the recycling, and the food waste, and the regular garbage, and I rinsed out the (by now really gross) food waste bin, and I put new bags in the bins in the kitchen and bathroom, and I survived my work day just in general, and now I am fucking exhausted and fed up with just about everything. But that's the price we pay for being motherfucking adults living alone.

The bright side is that, as motherfucking adults living alone, we can go from being a motherfucking adult directly to "curled up in jammies eating crisps and playing video games". Food groups will happen, as will meds etc (another fun side effect of being a motherfucking adult is remembering to do that shit without being nagged) but I require more in the way of comfort and relaxation before I do more adulting.

[popculturebuffet]

Earth Day Special! (4-Episodes. Too Many To List, Comission for Weird Kev 27)

Happy Earth Day everyone! It's a day to reuse, renew and recycle, reflect on the gifts mother earth has given us and hope it dosen't die horribly from big corporations and general studidity bleeding it dry!

It's also a time to celebrate how cartoons tackle envornmentalism, as Kev, my sorta producer and the guy who pays for the bulk of my commissions each month, is an environmentalist, and thus thought it'd be fun to take a look at a few episodes that tackle a green message and see how they do.

Today we'll be looking at the Rocko's Modern Life Classic "Zanzibar" and three more recent examples; OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes "The Power is Yours", Big City Greens "Green Greens" and The Ghost and Molly McGee's carbon zeor heroes. So join me under the cut as we see how yesterday and today's toons try to teach kids what they can do to help the environment.

Zanzibar (Rocko's Modern LIfe)

We start with the oldest episode here, all the way back from 1996.

Zanzibar is a musical episode, a genre I can't belivie I HAVEN'T covered before but love dearly. Sure sometimes it can be done poorly, but when done right it's a thing of beauty and Zanzibar does it right.

A lot of that is in who wrote it: Dan Povmire and Jeff Swampy Marsh of Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law Fame. This is where they got their start and you can tell it's them by the beautiful music and self aware tone. In a great joke everyone dancing and singing is explained by the fact they rehearesed every thursday, except Rocko who wasn't aware this was a thing and is deeply confused. The episode knows it's a musical and an environmental episode when the general strategy to writing one was POLUTION BAD. PEOPLE WHO POLUTE ARE GROTESQUE CORPRATE MONSTERS WHO POLUTE BECAUSE IT'S FUN OR SEXY TIM CURRY POLUTION. We all know grotesque corporate monsters pollute because it's cost effective.

Instead, Zanzibar is pretty blunt about where the issues come from: When Rocko arrives to a full dump after the catchy opening tune, Ed's solution is that "There's plenty of room over there".. in a park. Ed represents callous assholes who dump garbage everywhere, but in a realistic sense: some assholes really are that callous about the environment or act like damaging it dosen't matter. Ed even sings a whole song about how birds and fish are "brainnnnlesss pinheads", which is both beautiful to hear and also gloriously obnoxious.

Thankfully our heroes instead listen to Captain Compost Heap, a wonderfullyd eisgned pile of compost that sings the spelling song, the signature piece of this episode and the one that has been grafted to my head since watching. IT's catchy has hell.. and that's by design as it teaches HOW to help the environment in a way kids could feasably try while getting stuck in their head so the lesson sticks. It teaches the steps: recycle trash to reuse it, conserve power, and don't you P-O-L-L-U-T-E the rivers sky and sea or else your gonna get what you deserve. Simple but effective and it even talks about ozone depletion in detail, one of the best examples i've seen of that, only topped by Futurama's Crimes of the Hot later. Gotta remember that one and a big piece of garbage for next year.

OUr heroes DO mak ea change and help the dump reduce... but it also shows there's limits to what we CAN do as CCH points out the biggest polluter, Conglom-O the souless corporation that owns most of the city and city hall... to the point the crowd that's gathered decides to give up and sing about how you can't fight city hall. What's neat though is that Rocko.. dosen't and decides you can at least TRY to hold corporations accountable. Granted Rocko has a big unruly mob on his side but still.

Granted the episode does make the issue of holding them acountable easy as all it hilarously takes is Rocko barging in, adresssing the board, and then his big unruly mob singing a song to convince them "sure why not". IN real life.. they usually won't or may SAY they will but not actually do shit, and if they do do things it'll be in a performative measure. But I get this is a 90's era cartoon aimed at children, if fun for all, and thus can only do so much.

It DOES however work around this with catharsis: ed's in charge of it and thus gets the thankless job of undoing all Conglomo's shit which at least shows how big corprate greedheads really don't have to put any work into actually fixing their act and foster it on someone else. it's just in this case the someone else is a callous asshole incapable of learning a lesson, so it works out. And all Ed leanrs.. is to be pissed Rocko gave him extra work, and thus is smited by the ozone layer for his insolence. A bit broad? Sure but it works well for it's time and even now holds up really well, being a funny, sharply written episode that knows what it is and what it's limitations are and thus just has fun with it.

The Power is Yours (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes!)

OK KO is already pretty damn insane and it's great for that. It mixes subtle character development episodes, well done story arcs and a fun world with just about every genre of protagnist stuffed in and juiced up on energy drinks with wacky nonsense episodes.

This is one of those as well as one of OK KO's crossover episodes. While OK KO would do a proper big ole crossover with conteperary shows with Crossover Nexus, most of the time Ian instead focused on older properties. It's why the Grimwood Girls made their triumphant comeback here, why the Sonic crossover had a LOT of adventures of sonic the hedgehog homages, and why for it's first crossover... they choose captain planet.

Keep in mind Captain Planet, while aired on CN and grandfathered in as something owned by Time Warner Bros Discovery, originally aired on TBS and long predated the network. Of all the many great shows Cartoon Network had aired, it was a very left of field choice.

But it's one that clearly ian sincerly backed and rightfully so. The Power is Yours shows a love for Captain Planet while also lampooning the hell out of how over the top it is, which Given OK KO is already over the top in it's world, fits perfectly.

Here Lord Boxman, our resident baddy, gets help from evil efficency effort and former Captain Planet Villian Dr. Blight. He finds her sexay, so he gladly endugles her when she claims poluting and destroying the planet will somehow equal profit, a nice take on how most captain planet villians were greedy buisness types.. yet engaged in stuff that vastly outstripped the profit they'd actually get. There's a reason Captain Planet Villian is now short hand.

As a result the ice caps melt flooding the plaza, smog encroaches.. but only our lead KO gives a fuck. Rad is of course oblivoius and self intrested and Enid dosne't care a lot this early in the series.

Thankfully KO get shelp from Kwame, leader of the planateers played by returning acting icon Lavar Burton, who does a wonderful job. He gives each of the cast a ring.. including A Real Magical Skeleton and his buddy brandon, who have to share the wind ring.

Captain Planet is able to turn the tide and the animators.. just have fun with the series cartoony nature, having Captian Planet do the goddamn certified Jojo pose, complete with araki style art shift, above, suck up all the polution like a ballon and generally get to do looney tunes stuff.

As is standard procedure if I remmeber right, Captain Planet gets struck down and as is standard procedure fo rour heroes, Rad and Enid bicker and it takes KO using the power of HEART to get them to care about the environment which powers up CP enough to save the day.

The plot's simple.. btu what makes it work is how tounge in cheek it is: this is captain planet taken to it's most rediculous extreme and it works. The only thing missing is ted turner murdering people to really fit. And the ending.. improves on the source with Captain Planet pointing out what they've done.. really dosen't GUARANTEE the world is okay. We have to take systemic, group action to really make a change and not let the planet fall into a firey hell pit and while doing what you can is good, if exagerated for parody's sake here, climate change is something that's not easily fixed nor going away. It's a lesson we all need to learn and one well taught, mixnig the over the top parody and moralizing.. with a real message that lands because it's so seprated from what came before without feeling jarring. Captain Planet calmly telling a small child that it's not that easy.. works. The power is this episodes and the onlyt hing it was missing was a ted turner rampage.

Green Greens (Big City Greens)

Green Greens follows our favorite family as they try to clean up their own environment.. and also showcases how while Recycling IS a good thing, sometimes doing so can be a trial.

The ep kicks off with Bill finding out his garden is rotting. Naturally like 80% of his problems, it's cricke'ts fault, who has created a trash hole in the garden not getting that their crops are you know.. how they pay for food and stuff. As usual it dosen't sink in, not helped by the revelation Gramma has been aiding and abetting this nightmare. Tilly didn't know because "We knew you would snitch sweety" and I assume Gloria, their live in 20 something the family basically adopted in all but paper, didn't either.

Bill plans to clean all this up but runs into a problem thanks to said gloria; A flourcesnt bulb is among the trash and if not disposed properly it can leak into the enviroment, something I honestly forgot and is good to know. Wanting to both prove a point and not kill their yard worse than his son already has, Bill agrees to Gloria's suggestion to take it to an e-waste center. Gloria will drive and Tilly will tag along because she's a pure ray of sunshine while Cricket and Gramma will clean up the consequences of their actions.. which admitely isn't the biggest punishment as Cricket mocks bill about how he gets to play in the trash... though Gloria calling hi ma little racoon is adorable. She's a good big sister.

Gloria DOES have her limits though as our heroes end up in a traffic jam, and Gloria has big plans for tonight

Okay she just dosen't want to spend her saturday in traffic when her surrogate dad and sister can just take the train so their left on their own. What follows is an epic quest, as our heroes have trouble finding the chartruse line.. a gag I really like as Bill wonders if tha'ts even a color. They find help with an activist who is suprised anyone is actually doing something as fortold in the prophecy and guides them to their destination: beyond the bridge of woe to the e-waste center, it's frought with peril. Bill has an understandable question

And there's no real answer but I get their point: sometimes city planning makes it hard to .. you know actually recycle. not everywhere collects recycling. I know my town dosen't. And while Big City DOES, it's e-waste center is on the other side of town, in the shady and smog filled industrial district. It's not making it easy to do the right thing and it shoudn't be this hard to properly dispose of a lightbulb.

Our heroes treck through urban mordor.. and fine their on the wrong side. Bill does the understandable thing and goes laughing mad, scaring away some toughs and planning to just chuck it. TIllyt alks him down pointing out sometimes doing the right thing is hard.. but you should still do it.. even if it means crossing an industrial waste. And the thing is getting the bulb there for the one day a week, if that, it can be recycled... dosen't really fill them with any satisfaction.

What does that and gives them closure with their quest.. is the b plot> Cricket and Gramma are naturally hot mess. They do clean out the trash hole.. but now have a full trash can and a GARBAGE MOUNTAIN to deal with. Cricket does what I usually doa nd jsut stuffs it all in.. and it predictably backfires, spilling out all over.

They go with plan b: just stuff it in the neighbors dumpster.. and said neighbor says i'ts not very chill so they back off.. but does provide a solution. Recycling! The episode shows how recyling trash.. helps reduce it to a managable level, helping break down the issue of "well it makes it harder to have to sort the trash. it does.. at first.. but doing so helps reduce their trash. It honestly makes me want to try recycling simply because it seems like it'd help my room not be the wasteland it is.

It also delivers the episodes aseop: doing your part for the envorment is hard and often thankless.. but just doing your little bit with worth it. Just doing that much has already restored the soil around the crops.. and that's enough to make bill and tilly feel like their journey was worth it. And Gloria. she helped too. Probably.

Carbon Zero Heroes (The Ghost and Molly McGee)

Our final stop for this special, as we look in on the recently departed the Ghost and Molly McGee. Fun fact this is the first episode from season 2 i've seen.

This episode is also my first exposure to Ollie. He's our protaganist Mollie's boyfriend and thus to the shippers

That's somehow not an exageration either: See in season one Molly was heavily shipped with her closest friend Libby and her nemises turned friend Andrea, the former because they have adorable chemistry and compliment each other and the latter for both some of those reasons and because Disney shippers really love enemies to lovers. Given I ship both Sashanne and Lumity, I sympathize. So introducing a canon love intrest whose not either of them was always going to be a struggle. I'm a shipper myself, I get it. Sometimes it's hard. I mean i've been trying to ship this dog for several days

But i'm still not sure exactly who. It's a hard buisness and sometims you can go years without finding a character to pair with a character. Especially when ti's a cartoon british dog who already has a LOT of shit to put up with and thus needs someone SOMEWHAT stable. and also like 30's ish. What i'm saying is shipping wendy is harder than I expected and I get canon sometimes sucks.

I won't however bash Ollie for that as he was already being created byt he time season 1 aired, and thus the staff really didn't have time to pivot with the tides. At worst he's kinda bland as in at least this episode he's really just.. molly but a dude. That's it. Their adorable.. but unlike Libby or Andrea he dosen't really play off of her in an intresting way. his voice actor, who also has the voice of an angel in the musical number for this episode, feels he boosts her up, which fits.. but I still get that it's just not as intresting as Molly helping Libby with her shyness and Libby consequently help;ing Molly take about 10% off or Andrea's cool demeanor and slow reform contrasting Molly just going for it. It's not that Olly is TERRIBLE, he's just nojt AS good as the ships the fans had built up by the time he popped into the world.

So where were we.. ah yes. Someone help me ship this dog. She does pilates, can deadlift a grown dog man, and is the loving mother of one. She'as also easily startled but given her neighbor once slapped his ass in front of her as part of a game with his daughter and got shoved down the stairs for the same reasons while treating it as if it wasn't a big deal, you can see why maybe I want her to be happy

And oh yes the episode. Okay so our episode is kicked off by a lecture on how if we dont' fix climate change

And leaves the children all scared. Scratch, our ghost and Mollys ghost BFF, figures it's humanity's problem as he's dead. He dosen't have to deal with this and he certainly doesn't have a human body he forgot about. Nope not him.

Molly, being a go getter naturally dosen't take this lying down and wants to do something while Libby.. feels we're all fucked and there's ntohing we can do and has prepared a bunker. I was not expecting this to have a LIbby subplot about her survivial bunker for the inevitable fall of mankind, but here we are and it is glorious.

Ollie however agrees with Molly that they can do something so in classic kids tv fashoin tehy start recycling, pick up garbage, do all the carbon zero footprint stuff all to a catchy well done song.. and costume changes. I did say they were adorable, I prefer molibby but they aren't bad.

The episode also does something few kids shows have done, and something I like: While Big City Greens talked about taking small steps, Rocko foreshadowed what a bit task it was and OK KO showed whatever steps you tak earen't enough alone, TGAMM shows just HOW MUCH it'd take to actually leave a zero footprint. Our heroes bike everywhere, can't watch anything, can't have pizza, eat turnips they grew but can't cook them because gas (even though fire is an option. Whose for fire?), keep bugs off said turnips, miss a birthday party and are generally utterly miserable.. and it only improves the earth by .00000000003%. The hard truth is doing NO harm to the envronment in a world set up that way... is simply impossible without radical life changes two 13 year olds simply aren't capable of. They can't buy a farm or have the money to grow crops and can't bike up hills reliably. As a wise 10 year old once said

It's a hard truth.. but one kids NEED to hear. You can't do everything yourself, the world is hard to change and you shouldn't kill yoruself doing so. It dosent mean having a trash hole or nothing matters it just means saving the earth isn't something you can do by yourself.

While our heroes were hitting rock bottom we get that bunker subplot, which is the best part of the episode. Granted I already liked libby a lot as a character but given her sometimes depressed nature, it fits perfectly that she simply decided instead of trying to change thigns to prepare to the end, and seeing the normally shy libby show off her zombie bunker is great. She even gladly invites Scratch. What's a bunker without friends. This plot is here for two reasons. the first is it's hilarious and provides a nice contrast from how.. rough the a plot can get as while there are some funny bits it's rough watching two well meaning 13 year olds nearly drive themselves nuts trying to fix climate change.

So instead we get another tween whose happily set up a zombie survivial bunker and counters Scratch's "those don't exist" with "People dont think ghosts are real either". Touche. She also has a blanket with spikes and a bed with spikes. Lots of spikes, canned goods and posters to prepare for the zombei apocalypse or any old apocalypse.

The other reason besides being objectively hilarious is it shows the other extreme: giving up, accepting the world will go to shit and errupt in fire and being prepared to live in a horrifying post apocalypse. And that itself.. isn't healthy. I mean having a bunker shockingly is as having somewhere safe and secure planned in case shit goes down, especially when your best friend has recently dealt with super ghosts, isn't that unresonable especially in these times. I can see why Libby's mom lets her keep it. They MIGHT need it.

The problem is just.. giving up: accepting the world will end instead of at least trying.

It's worth it to just.. try to make the world more sustainable. We can't probably entirely FIX climate change, but we can at least try. It's the lesson throughout all these episodes: climate change dosen't have an easy answer, but you can't give up.

So Molly and Ollie do.. but scratch encourages them.... ti's mostly to save ice cream as he realizes apocalypse food sucks, but it ends up being a good metaphor: that alone we can't save ice cream, but together we can. That community action.. is really what's needed> it might not fix EVERYTHING.. but we can at least try.

So Molly goes to town hall... which isn't as over the top as it might sound because she's tight with the mayor and has done a lot of community improvment. Of course their going to listen to her and her boyfriend and her future girlfirend and her army of racoons. She's earned it.

So Molly simply pitches a green intivaitve for the town which mayor patton oswalt naturally agrees to because he's a good dude and again, Molly has done a LOT for this town. He tried to make her mayor once. Simply doing their part, picking up trash, upping recycling, and setting up windmills... it'll only help them get carbon neutral by a decade from now.. but it's something, and shows you can acomplsih something by just trying. Also Scratch has become jabba the hutt from a lot of ice cream.

So that ends this retrospective and I gotta say.. not a bad episode in the bunch. All teach their lesson well without being patronizing or ignoring how hard going green CAN be. It was a great crop so this earth day, save a tree, try to recycle.. just do what you can. Do all you can do and it'll make the world just a little better.. and maybe tell a billionare to fuck off. I'm writing this in advance but Elon Musk will probably have done something that day. So thanks for reading and happy earth day.

[thinkeco-friendly]

The Impacts of Pollution on Human Health

Waste generation in low/high-income areas and its impacts.

It is not a secret that plastic and toxic chemical pollution due to improper waste disposal in our environment threatens our health and safety. In many places, garbage cannot be properly disposed of because of unsustainable waste disposal systems, which will pollute the water, soil, and air. Waste dumpsites, especially in rural low- and middle-income communities worldwide, are at their highest with unregulated trash. Most of the unregulated plastic pollution on land will eventually seep into the soil, and others will find their way down to bodies of water, infiltrating ocean ecosystems. Due to the inaccessibility of a reliable waste management system, many people in these communities suffer from exposed methane and carbon dioxide emissions, diseases, microplastics, and pollutants.

Although the waste output of low- to middle-income communities will be much less than those in high-income neighborhoods, without a well-funded waste management system and access to compostable, biodegradable, environmentally friendly products, their society will remain in plastic waste. Regardless, many of these communities try to eliminate the garbage by uncontrolled burning and waste dumping, but these methods are not sustainable for themselves or the Earth's future.

Burning plastic trash instead of properly disposing of it or using techniques to limit the waste output, such as recycling or reusing, will result in black carbon and poor air quality, elevating the risk of respiratory diseases, cancer, and death. According to the Pan American Health Organization, nearly "7 million premature deaths are attributable to air pollution in 2016," and "about 88% of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries."

Waste dumping results in plastic pollution in the environment, which "pose both physical (e.g., entanglement, gastrointestinal blockage, reef destruction) and chemical threats (e.g., bioaccumulation of the chemical ingredients of plastic or toxic chemicals sorbed to plastics) to wildlife and the marine ecosystem."

Though their methods may not be feasible in the long run, only government environmental programs and agencies can enact real change in these communities with funded systems and innovative ways to transport trash in and out of rural areas. Education on composting, reducing, reusing, and recycling may also help create a better environment.

Despite the large amounts of pollution attributed to the low- and middle-income communities' unsustainable waste systems, the continual plastic pollution is mostly because of the high production of plastic in growing industries in China, North America, and Europe. With easy access to waste-generating goods, the pollution problem becomes more prevalent in these countries. This foreshadows other factors that play a role in the plastic pollution issue, such as the illegal dumping of plastic waste, littering, and mismanagement of plastics; in 2016, the United States ranked #1 in plastic waste generation, as shown in the photo below.

Source: NPG, 2020

With the ever-growing amount of mismanaged plastic disposed of in our environment, the effects continue to show in research studies, revealing that it threatens the health of humans globally.

The diagram created by CIEL below demonstrates the multitudes of ways that exposure to pollution can affect human health.

More than ever, we should beware of its effects and stop producing single-use plastics that will only create more problems when disposed of. Learning and educating ourselves on Earth and becoming aware of the adverse effects will allow us, as a community, to grow one step closer to a more sustainable planet.

Sources

Mihai, F., Gündoğdu, S., Markley, L. A., Olivelli, A., Khan, F. R., Gwinnett, C., Gutberlet, J., Meidiana, C., Elagroudy, S., Ishchenko, V., Penney, S., & Lenkiewicz, Z. (2022). Plastic Pollution, Waste Management Issues, and Circular Economy Opportunities in Rural Communities. Sustainability, 14(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010020

Vinti, G., & Vaccari, M. (2022). Solid Waste Management in Rural Communities of Developing Countries: An Overview of Challenges and Opportunities. Clean Technologies, 4(4), 1138-1151. https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol4040069

Zhou, B., Qi, F., Riaz, M. F., & Ali, T. (2022). An Analysis of the Factors behind Rural Residents’ Satisfaction with Residential Waste Management in Jiangxi, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114220

[sunmontuewrites]

Okay - there is NO WAY IN HELL that this can all be done this weekend. I am more than aware of that. However I want to at least put it all out there that I'm TRYING to get it done. Feel free to open the list and feel over whelmed along with me.

(You can see some of the really BIG jobs I have split into quarters or eigths. I will take before and after photos because this is likely one of the biggest 'unfuck your habitat' things I've done in about a decade...)

Change sheets on bed

Change sheets on kids' beds (kids to do)

Clean toilet

Clean shower (Hubs)

Basins (Kids)

Mirrors (Kids)

Vacuum (Hubs)

Trip to the rubbish dump

Trip to metal recycling (Hubs)

Trip to garden centre

Dismantle swing set

Buy new shoes

Do tshirts for nephew

Wrap presents and prepare for posting

Wash cat bowls (kids)

Wash compost bucket

Buy Car Light bulbs and Wiper blades

Wash car and clean inside

Pick up undelivered parcels (Hubs)

Water blasting?

Wash house?

Email winners of auction #1

Email winners of auction #2

Email winners of auction #3

Arrange pick-ups of parcels (Hubs)

Auction 1 picked up

Auction 2 picked up

Auction 3?

Grocery list

Grocery shopping (Hubs)

Make spare bed in Max's room

Tidy kids' bedrooms (kids)

Facial

Manicure

Pedicure

1500 words Saturday

1500 words Sunday

Post Saturday chapter of AT on AO3

Post Sunday chapter of AT on AO3

Dye hair

Fold/organise blankets/bedding in family room

Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner Saturday

Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner Sunday

Glue bottles

Clean/Vacuum under couch cushions

Wipe down family room curtains

Garage 1/8 (starting from left and going clockwise)

Garage 1/8

Garage 1/8

Garage 1/8

Garage 1/8

Garage 1/8

Garage 1/8

Garage 1/8

Clean Garage windows

Sweep/Blow all dirt/leaves out of garage

Lawn Edges around circular garden

Lawn Edges around vegetable planters

Lawn Edges around blueberries

Lawn Edges around concrete rectangle

Lawn Grass driveway diamond

Weed Circular garden

Weed Vegetable planters

Weed Strip by letter box

Weed 1/4 bedroom garden

Weed 1/4 bedroom garden

Weed 1/4 bedroom garden

Weed 1/4 bedroom garden

[slicesofapple]

Atsumu decides he is going to bake Tooru’s birthday cake himself.  It’s the second of Tooru’s birthdays that they’ve been together, and he thinks it’s about time he overcame his fear of cooking and just did it. If any Joe Schmo on the street can bake a cake, then he can too, right?

Which means Osamu gets a call at 2 in the afternoon when Atsumu is frantically waving the smoke out of the kitchen.

After euthanizing the moribund cake (that is, dumping its burnt carcass into the compost), Atsumu pays extra special attention as Osamu (who does not have the #()*#($* time for this, Tsumu, ya scrub!) talks Atsumu step-by-step through the creation of an entirely new (bare-bones vanilla sheet) cake.

And then decorating it (that is, by sticking the candles in.) When Atsumu complains about the plain appearance, Osamu replies with, “Don’t get ahead o’ yerself, Tsumu! Ya know what happened to Icarus, right?”

Despite the lack of fanciful touches, Atsumu brings the cake proudly out to the dining room and sets it down alongside Tooru’s beautifully swathed present (this having been wrapped by the elegant shopkeeper who sold it) and the plethora of balloons he has blown up.

By this time the smoke has (mostly) cleared out, and Atsumu looks around, well pleased with his efforts.

Tooru will certainly be impressed with the festive nature of the affair (and, hopefully, the taste of the cake).

Atsumu frowns.

Except... Perhaps....  Tooru might not appreciate...

And then his brow clears. Yes! The perfect solution!

Hastily taking a large piece of cardboard out of the recycling, he prints out, in oversized script, “Closed for Repairs.”

And then he carefully tapes the sign to the shut and locked kitchen door, (beyond which, every available surface is covered in sugar, flour, crumbs, eggshells, and the hundreds of now-dirty kitchen implements Atsumu was compelled to use in the creation of his masterpiece).

No point in ruining the mood right off the bat, yeah?

[oinkpigments]

Today is National Recycling day! What's your recycling routine? Does where you live make it easy or difficult to recycle? . At my house we have a recycling dumpster for paper goods, then we take all the cans and plastic that are recyclable to the local recycling drop off. . When we have clothing that we don't wear anymore those go to a thrift shop. . We throw our scraps into the backyard for the birds and other animals to enjoy, though we're supposed to get a compost program in San Diego soon. . At the dye studio, we have a flower garden where the water from dyeing drains out too. We do our best to use the same water for several batches of yarn before pouring it out also. Recycling isn't perfect and we need big companies to reduce their carbon footprint, but little things like not littering and sending less to the dump still make an impact. . . . . . #OinkPigments #Knitter #Knitting #Knit #KnittersOfInstagram #Crochet #Crocheted #Crocheter #CrocheterOfInstagram #Crochetstagram #Knitstagram #Yarn #IndieDyer #Inspiration #ColorTheory #ColorInspiration #SmallBatch #USAMade #HandDyed #HandDyedYarn #IndieDyed #IndieDyedYarn #Fiber #ForatheGram #SlowFashion https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_OKh_pq1F/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[contentment-of-cats]

Brain purge

In light of recent AI developments, I've decided to take my Ao3 to registered users only. I do have account creation codes, so if you want to become a registered user, let me know.

It's also more likely than not that bots are also scraping Tumblr for art and content. I'm not sure how I want to handle this, but am thinking about it.

Found out that when you have an invisible like or reblog, it's someone who has blocked you unblocking, raiding your content, reblocking, and then using it on their own blog. It's a deeply chickenshit move, so I have blocked the most likely shitting chicken in return. It's not a blacklist when it's just taking out the trash - not even the recycling or the composting, but the straight-up trash.

More brain dumping below the cut.

I'm going to be doing some more blog-housekeeping in the next few days.

Had an aspiration on a large thyroid cyst, and a biopsy of both the fluid and the nodule tissue. The immediate result is a spectacular bruise that looks like a hickey from something with a mouth the size of a sink plunger. The biopsy showed atypical but not cancerous cells, so now I get to add another MD to my dance card.

I hate vaccines, even as I know the need for them. I was finally cleared to get my second COVID booster, was feverish and achy yesterday, and not much better today. Tylenol and Pedialyte are my morning.

Made a lot of food over the course of the week, now have zero appetite for any of it. Will eat it anyway.

Mom has been gone for two weeks, and when I was talking to my therapist yesterday, I said that I found myself smoothing over some of the truly shitty shit she did - cashing out my college fund, cheating me out of my due on a real estate deal, beating me unconscious, and once using a chokehold on me because I wasn't washing my face right. I also said that she was a nicer person with dementia than she ever was sane. My therapist said that children of Cluster B parents who develop dementia often say that.

I feel a combination of grief, relief, and ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead. My mother in dementia was by and large the person she should have been. No gaslighting, no manipulation, no emotional abuse. She was safe, cared for, had dignity, and I have been reminded that I was well within my rights to cut her off as I was on the verge of doing.

I'm writing, but it's a fractured effort. I'm working on my fic, but also on an actual get-paid story. I want a little more income, and writing is about what I can do at the moment.

My post-treatment physical issues remain... variable? The neuropathy in my feet makes me feel as if I am wearing the most uncomfortable socks ever. My hands lock up from time to time. I still have occasional joint pain - your spine is a joint.

In +1 news, I have been able to walk and even navigate the stairs without my cane. My core, upper body, and leg strength is slowly coming back. After getting my booster yesterday, I went to the grocery store - did not get much because I'd have to get it up the stairs, but I did fill my backpack.

Once Mom's estate is settled, the Big Out will commence My mother was very much about Stuff and I am about what will do the most good. Certain items go to friends, more to charities, some to consignment. I think that things ought to go where they are wanted and will be cherished, whether it's a big poofy quilt to a fostered dog or a 200-year-old rocking chair to her friend's front porch.

[arconila]

Proper dumping of garbage is crucial for the health and well-being of our communities and the environment. When waste is not disposed of properly, it can contaminate our air, water, and soil, leading to a host of health and environmental problems.

As advocates for proper dumping of garbage, we believe that everyone has a responsibility to dispose of their waste in a way that is safe and sustainable. This means following a few simple guidelines:

1.Sort your waste: Separating your waste into recyclable, compostable, and non-recyclable materials can help reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and minimize the impact on the environment.

2.Use designated garbage bins: Use designated bins for each type of waste and avoid littering. It’s important to dispose of waste in the appropriate bin, whether it’s a trash can, recycling bin, or compost bin.

3.Avoid illegal dumping: Illegal dumping not only pollutes the environment but also poses risks to human health and safety. Illegal dumping can lead to pollution of water sources, contaminate soil and air, and cause disease.

4.Reduce waste: Reduce the amount of waste you produce by using reusable containers, buying products with minimal packaging, and composting food waste.

Proper dumping of garbage benefits everyone in the community. It helps keep our streets clean, reduces the risk of disease, and protects the environment for future generations. As advocates for proper dumping of garbage, we encourage everyone to take responsibility for their waste and do their part in creating a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable world.

#PROJECT IN EMTECH 12 #ADVOCACY

#12 GEMINI

#ARCONILA