#electronic waste solutions

[kritkagupta]

Learn the importance of e-waste recycling and how to properly dispose of electronic waste. Discover how recycling old gadgets reduces environmental harm and promotes sustainability.

[helaven]

Weapons of Mass Construction

[vandykrecyclingsolutions]

Understand Electronics Waste Recycling-Features,Function & Capabilities

[re-sourcerecycling]

Recycling Solutions’ Influence On Ontario’s Circular Economy

The immediate thought in light of the growing concern for the environment is Ontario, which would be among the first in line to consider environmentally friendly practices adding to the circular economy. Such a dream requires effective recycling solutions such as electronic recycling and product destruction services in Ontario. Read More: https://medium.com/@resourcerecycling10/recycling-solutions-influence-on-ontario-s-circular-economy-85ecb5830fab

[303junk]

[e-wastemart]

10 Simple Ways to Reduce Electronic Waste (E-Waste)

In our fast-paced digital age, electronic devices have become an indispensable part of our lives. However, the rapid growth of electronic waste, commonly known as e-waste, poses a significant challenge to the environment and human health. To combat this pressing issue, we must take proactive steps to reduce e-waste and promote sustainable practices. 

Here are 10 simple ways you can make a positive impact:

Think before you buy: When you want to buy a new electronic device, ask yourself if you really need it. Maybe your old one can still work fine.

Take good care of your stuff: If you take good care of your electronic gadgets, they will last longer, and you won't need to throw them away quickly.

Share or sell: If your old gadgets are still working well, you can give them to someone who needs them or sell them.

Buy refurbished items: Instead of always buying brand-new things, you can choose to get refurbished electronics. They are used but fixed up, so they are good as new.

Fix it up: When something breaks, try to repair it instead of buying a new one. Fixing things is better for the environment and saves money.

Recycle properly: When you want to throw away old electronics, find a place that can recycle them the right way. That helps keep harmful stuff out of the environment.

Join recycling events: Sometimes, there are events where you can bring your e-waste to be recycled safely. Be part of these events if you can.

Support eco-friendly brands: Choose products from companies that care about the environment and make things in a good way.

Teach others: Tell your friends and family about the importance of reducing e-waste. Encourage them to do the same.

Speak up for the environment: Support rules and policies that make companies responsible for their e-waste. Together, we can make a big change!

Remember, by doing these simple things, we can make a big difference in reducing electronic waste and protecting the Earth for the future. For more tips on living sustainably, visit How to Reduce Electronic Waste, or check out our website E-Waste Mart website today to know more about E waste management or E waste recycling in Mumbai. Let's work together for a greener and better world!

[k12academics]

123 Repairshop is dedicated to data destruction as part of our commitment to data protection and privacy. We understand the importance of securely disposing of sensitive information to prevent any unauthorized access or data breaches. Our comprehensive approach ensures that your data is protected throughout the entire repair and recycling process.

When it comes to data destruction, our technicians follow strict protocols to ensure the complete and irreversible erasure of data from devices. We utilize industry-leading software and techniques to securely wipe all data, leaving no traces behind. This process applies to both personal devices and business equipment, guaranteeing the highest level of data security.

In addition to data destruction, 123 Repairshop emphasizes environmental sustainability and responsible e-waste management. We offer electronic recycling options for old, damaged, or obsolete devices. Our technicians meticulously disassemble each item, separating recyclable components such as metals, plastics, circuit boards, and batteries. Through our partnerships with certified recycling facilities, we ensure that these materials are appropriately treated and processed, minimizing the environmental impact of electronic waste.

By choosing 123 Repairshop, you not only receive top-quality repairs and data protection, but you also contribute to a healthier planet. Our commitment to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and data protection aligns with our belief in making a positive impact. We strive to support educational institutions, promote eco-friendly practices, and safeguard your valuable data.

Whether you need repairs, data destruction, or electronic recycling, we are your trusted partner in achieving your needs while making a positive impact on the world around us. At 123 Repairshop, we combine exceptional service with environmentally friendly practices, social responsibility, and data protection. Join us in our mission to create a healthier and more sustainable future by choosing our services.

[reasonsforhope]

"As the world grows “smarter” through the adoption of smartphones, smart fridges, and entire smart houses, the carbon cost of that technology grows, too. 

In the last decade, electronic waste has become one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world. 

According to The World Counts, the globe generates about 50 million tons of e-waste every year. That’s the equivalent of 1,000 laptops being trashed every second. 

After they’re shipped off to landfills and incinerated, the trash releases toxic chemicals including lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, and so much more, which can cause disastrous health effects on the populations that live near those trash sites. 

Fortunately, Franziska Kerber — a university student at ​​FH Joanneum in Graz, Austria — has dreamed up a solution that helps carve away at that behemoth problem: electronics made out of recyclable, dissolvable paper. 

On September 11, Kerber’s invention “Pape” — or Paper Electronics — earned global recognition when it was named a national winner of the 2024 James Dyson Awards. 

When she entered the scientific competition, Kerber demonstrated her invention with the creation of several small electronics made out of paper materials, including a fully-functional WiFi router and smoke detector. 

“Small electronic devices are especially prone to ending up in household waste due to unclear disposal systems and their small size, so there is significant potential to develop a more user-friendly end-of-life system,” Kerber wrote on the James Dyson Award website. 

“With this in mind, I aimed to move beyond a simple recycling solution to a circular one, ensuring long-term sustainability.” 

Kerber’s invention hinges on crafting a dissolvable and recyclable PCB board out of compressed “paper pulp.” 

A printed circuit board (PCB) is a board that can be found in nearly all modern electronic devices, like phones, tablets, and smartwatches.

But even companies that have started incorporating a “dissolution” step into the end life of their products require deconstruction to break down and recover the PCB board before it can be recycled. 

With Kerber’s PAPE products, users don’t need to take the device apart to recycle it.

“By implementing a user-friendly return option, manufacturers can efficiently dissolve all returned items, potentially reusing electronic components,” Kerber explained. 

“Rapidly advancing technology, which forms the core of many devices, becomes obsolete much faster than the structural elements, which are often made from plastics that can last thousands of years,” Kerber poses. 

PAPE, Kerber says, has a “designed end-of-life system” which anticipates obsolescence. 

“Does anyone want to use a thousand-year-old computer?” Kerber asks. “Of course not. … This ensures a sustainable and reliable system without hindering technological advancement.”"

-via GoodGoodGood, September 13, 2024

[are-we-art-yet]

Is AWAY using it's own program or is this just a voluntary list of guidelines for people using programs like DALL-E? How does AWAY address the environmental concerns of how the companies making those AI programs conduct themselves (energy consumption, exploiting impoverished areas for cheap electricity, destruction of the environment to rapidly build and get the components for data centers etc.)? Are members of AWAY encouraged to contact their gov representatives about IP theft by AI apps?

What is AWAY and how does it work?

AWAY does not "use its own program" in the software sense—rather, we're a diverse collective of ~1000 members that each have their own varying workflows and approaches to art. While some members do use AI as one tool among many, most of the people in the server are actually traditional artists who don't use AI at all, yet are still interested in ethical approaches to new technologies.

Our code of ethics is a set of voluntary guidelines that members agree to follow upon joining. These emphasize ethical AI approaches, (preferably open-source models that can run locally), respecting artists who oppose AI by not training styles on their art, and refusing to use AI to undercut other artists or work for corporations that similarly exploit creative labor.

Environmental Impact in Context

It's important to place environmental concerns about AI in the context of our broader extractive, industrialized society, where there are virtually no "clean" solutions:

The water usage figures for AI data centers (200-740 million liters annually) represent roughly 0.00013% of total U.S. water usage. This is a small fraction compared to industrial agriculture or manufacturing—for example, golf course irrigation alone in the U.S. consumes approximately 2.08 billion gallons of water per day, or about 7.87 trillion liters annually. This makes AI's water usage about 0.01% of just golf course irrigation.

Looking into individual usage, the average American consumes about 26.8 kg of beef annually, which takes around 1,608 megajoules (MJ) of energy to produce. Making 10 ChatGPT queries daily for an entire year (3,650 queries) consumes just 38.1 MJ—about 42 times less energy than eating beef. In fact, a single quarter-pound beef patty takes 651 times more energy to produce than a single AI query.

Overall, power usage specific to AI represents just 4% of total data center power consumption, which itself is a small fraction of global energy usage. Current annual energy usage for data centers is roughly 9-15 TWh globally—comparable to producing a relatively small number of vehicles.

The consumer environmentalism narrative around technology often ignores how imperial exploitation pushes environmental costs onto the Global South. The rare earth minerals needed for computing hardware, the cheap labor for manufacturing, and the toxic waste from electronics disposal disproportionately burden developing nations, while the benefits flow largely to wealthy countries.

While this pattern isn't unique to AI, it is fundamental to our global economic structure. The focus on individual consumer choices (like whether or not one should use AI, for art or otherwise,) distracts from the much larger systemic issues of imperialism, extractive capitalism, and global inequality that drive environmental degradation at a massive scale.

They are not going to stop building the data centers, and they weren't going to even if AI never got invented.

Creative Tools and Environmental Impact

In actuality, all creative practices have some sort of environmental impact in an industrialized society:

Digital art software (such as Photoshop, Blender, etc) generally uses 60-300 watts per hour depending on your computer's specifications. This is typically more energy than dozens, if not hundreds, of AI image generations (maybe even thousands if you are using a particularly low-quality one).

Traditional art supplies rely on similar if not worse scales of resource extraction, chemical processing, and global supply chains, all of which come with their own environmental impact.

Paint production requires roughly thirteen gallons of water to manufacture one gallon of paint.

Many oil paints contain toxic heavy metals and solvents, which have the potential to contaminate ground water.

Synthetic brushes are made from petroleum-based plastics that take centuries to decompose.

That being said, the point of this section isn't to deflect criticism of AI by criticizing other art forms. Rather, it's important to recognize that we live in a society where virtually all artistic avenues have environmental costs. Focusing exclusively on the newest technologies while ignoring the environmental costs of pre-existing tools and practices doesn't help to solve any of the issues with our current or future waste.

The largest environmental problems come not from individual creative choices, but rather from industrial-scale systems, such as:

Industrial manufacturing (responsible for roughly 22% of global emissions)

Industrial agriculture (responsible for roughly 24% of global emissions)

Transportation and logistics networks (responsible for roughly 14% of global emissions)

Making changes on an individual scale, while meaningful on a personal level, can't address systemic issues without broader policy changes and overall restructuring of global economic systems.

Intellectual Property Considerations

AWAY doesn't encourage members to contact government representatives about "IP theft" for multiple reasons:

We acknowledge that copyright law overwhelmingly serves corporate interests rather than individual creators

Creating new "learning rights" or "style rights" would further empower large corporations while harming individual artists and fan creators

Many AWAY members live outside the United States, many of which having been directly damaged by the US, and thus understand that intellectual property regimes are often tools of imperial control that benefit wealthy nations

Instead, we emphasize respect for artists who are protective of their work and style. Our guidelines explicitly prohibit imitating the style of artists who have voiced their distaste for AI, working on an opt-in model that encourages traditional artists to give and subsequently revoke permissions if they see fit. This approach is about respect, not legal enforcement. We are not a pro-copyright group.

In Conclusion

AWAY aims to cultivate thoughtful, ethical engagement with new technologies, while also holding respect for creative communities outside of itself. As a collective, we recognize that real environmental solutions require addressing concepts such as imperial exploitation, extractive capitalism, and corporate power—not just focusing on individual consumer choices, which do little to change the current state of the world we live in.

When discussing environmental impacts, it's important to keep perspective on a relative scale, and to avoid ignoring major issues in favor of smaller ones. We promote balanced discussions based in concrete fact, with the belief that they can lead to meaningful solutions, rather than misplaced outrage that ultimately serves to maintain the status quo.

If this resonates with you, please feel free to join our discord. :)

Works Cited:

USGS Water Use Data: https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/water-use-united-states

Golf Course Superintendents Association of America water usage report: https://www.gcsaa.org/resources/research/golf-course-environmental-profile

Equinix data center water sustainability report: https://www.equinix.com/resources/infopapers/corporate-sustainability-report

Environmental Working Group's Meat Eater's Guide (beef energy calculations): https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/

Hugging Face AI energy consumption study: https://huggingface.co/blog/carbon-footprint

International Energy Agency report on data centers: https://www.iea.org/reports/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks

Goldman Sachs "Generational Growth" report on AI power demand: https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/generational-growth-ai-data-centers-and-the-coming-us-power-surge/report.pdf

Artists Network's guide to eco-friendly art practices: https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-business/how-to-be-an-eco-friendly-artist/

The Earth Chronicles' analysis of art materials: https://earthchronicles.org/artists-ironically-paint-nature-with-harmful-materials/

Natural Earth Paint's environmental impact report: https://naturalearthpaint.com/pages/environmental-impact

Our World in Data's global emissions by sector: https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector

"The High Cost of High Tech" report on electronics manufacturing: https://goodelectronics.org/the-high-cost-of-high-tech/

"Unearthing the Dirty Secrets of the Clean Energy Transition" (on rare earth mineral mining): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/18/clean-energy-dirty-mining-indigenous-communities-climate-crisis

Electronic Frontier Foundation's position paper on AI and copyright: https://www.eff.org/wp/ai-and-copyright

Creative Commons research on enabling better sharing: https://creativecommons.org/2023/04/24/ai-and-creativity/

[zooliminology]

Hello!! I plan to go into the biology field and take great interest in the entities, I have several questions

Is there any form of sexual dymorphism in the entities of the far plane? Actually--A better question for this would be do the entities have any biological sexes to begin with? Or do they simply exist? You mentioned no evidence of reproduction before, but does that mean that they just don't necessarily reproduce sexually, or that they don't have sexes at all?

Is there any way to test for what the remaining 00.4%(I may be mistaken but I'm pretty sure you said the concrete in Brutalia matched 99.6% with what concrete here is made of) may be in the concrete in Brutalia? Is it likely that the remaining 00.4% is something not found on Earth, like water two?

Somewhat related, have any new elements been discovered on the Far Plane? If so, do they have names yet and are you able to share their information(atomic mass, electron configuration, etc)?

Do any of the entities display higher levels of intelligence than others? Would it be possible to test some of them with the mirror test, for example? I understand that they likely don't have the type of intelligence that animals here on Earth have, as if I remember right many don't seem to have organs at all, but they must have some level of self awareness, I'd imagine.

And finally, have behaviors between the entities been observed that mirror how animals communicate on Earth? Sounds, movements, really anything that can be translated to forms of communication between the species? If so, have you been able to decipher what any of these things may mean to the entities(as in signs of happiness, greetings, signals, that kind of thing).

[ SO sorry for the massive ask, I really like speculative biology and absolutely love these weird little guys you have. They intrigue me. Sorry if you've answered any of these before, I don't think I've seen any of these but I may be mistaken ]

What an intriguing collection of questions.

There is no reason to believe that extraplanar entities have any biological sex, at least not as we know them. There has not yet been reproduction in extraplanar entities witnessed. Not only this, but no extraplanar entity has any set of genitals. Not to excrete waste with, and not to reproduce with. If extraplanar entities reproduce, it is not through means we as carbon-based organisms can recognize.

0.4% of Brutalia's concrete is a material currently unrecognizable as any material found on Earth. This may be water 2, or a solution made with water 2- I am admittedly not sure.

Most, if not all materials in the Far Plane can also be found on earth. It is the composition of them that is baffling. Princes are one-hundred percent made of glass, similar to what we make on earth, but our glass cannot move around independently.

Maax and Sailors in specific come to mind when thinking of 'intelligent' entities. Most entities do not have brains or nervous systems that could tell for sure whether they have any mental activities or are just portraying automatic reactions. However, Maax are capable of learning tricks, such as "sitting" or shaking. Sailors will investigate new objects put into their environments and may be capable of using very simple tools. While no traditional mental capacity can be measured, they for sure interact with their environment not dissimilar to intelligent animals.

Most resemblances to earth organisms appear to be superficial at best. Most entities seem to not have the ability or no need to have developed complex language structures, and if they have, they would not be observable by us. Some entities do, however, seem to communicate in ways understandable by humans. Light Mimics displaying their light-like frills seem to be a 'threat display' of sorts, or a warning to stay away from their house. If this is not heeded, the perpetrator will be promptly thrown away into the snow.

[ablobwhowrites]

Hi, it's me again, the Last Unicorn Anom, I forgot to add this part from the movie because I couldn't find the script, but I got it now!

"You are an idiot! Do you hear me? You've lost her! You've trapped her in a human body! She'll go mad!"

" What have you done to me? I'm a unicorn! I'm a unicorn! I'm a unicorn! I wish you had let the Red Bull take me. I wish you had left me to the harpy!- I can feel this body dying all around me!" (For context a wizard forced the Unicorn into a human body. Unicorns are immortal, forever young, never suffering. Now she feels her body aging and living all around her soul and mind. But she can't do anything about it or she'll die. This matches Vehicon Reader so much with how they/he can still feel their mortal body inside the Vehicon one. They feel both alive and dead.)

(leaping in joy rn. Also have y'all seen creature commandos by chance?)

Vehicon y/n actually did die as he was being hooked up to his new body but came back to life because this was after they learned from starscream that energon is basically what they use to live and that was basically injected into y/n's body to the point slowly y/n is becoming reliant on his new body that taking him out would kill him without the constant flowing of energon in his system and now having energon keeping him alive. His body will never age like a regular humans, he is forced this immortality as he doesn’t know that once cybertron is repaired that he’ll have to go, he doesn’t know he can’t stay because is more cybertronian than human but he feels a small part of him still connected to earth, he feels his heart ache and his human body slowly wasting away in him till he eventually is the vehicon body that he’ll live in, he’s scared and just wants someone to hold close. Similar to the last unicorn, he can feel his body dying all around him, his near death experience had let him see his mortality as now he is forced to be immortal because of Silas.

Plus I as I will say it again. You all know that scene where in Steven universe where pearl was thinking of taking Stevens gem out, thinking rose was trapped in that form. Well y/n has thought of that and he thought it was a solution so basically to tear his human body out to be free but if he did then bro. It would be like a horror movie scene.

(Also separate from transformers prime and time for a dumb yandere bayverse transformers head canon)

I like to think of yandere bayverse transformers cause like you saw how the all spark gives life to any electronic thing and I imagine just y/n's cellphone end up coming to life and y/n just stands there like "sorry, I couldn't answer your calls, my phone just jumped out of my hands to help fight the decepticons" and Sam (or Cabe) doesn't believe it and then sees y/n's fucking phone come running back and just climb into y/n's pocket and transform back into a regular phone. I really just like the dumb idea of y/n having to deal with their phone being a autobot.

(that's all for my yap session but if you guys like that please don't be shy and request your ideas for stories or y/n's. But for now please stay safe and drink water!)

[seat-safety-switch]

There's a whole lot of towns out there that you'll never visit. Most of them are chock full of people you'll never meet. Tulsa, for example. Never been there, might never go there. And that makes me a little sad.

Sure, I only have enough time on this earth to visit so many towns. And when I'm there, I don't have enough time to interrogate every single one of the locals to see if, say, any of them have a set of Mopar F-body windshield wiper linkages sitting in the back of their garage. They'll just go to waste, damned to irrelevance by my lack of time. That's what the MBAs call a "market inefficiency."

The internet has helped, sure, but you can only demand what other people have supplied. Any quick browse on a model-specific forum is full of lonely folks crying out to the heavens for a specific piece of trim, or an entire automatic transmission, that they will never receive. And it's a lot of work to put that stuff up for sale. Who knows what's actually inside that weird pile of oil-stained gewgaws that Pawpaw left behind before he joined that alien cult and drank all that Flavor-Aid? His surviving next-of-kin sure don't know the difference between a 4.11 and a 3.90 rear end, nor are they willing to teach themselves that information in order to list it on eBay for twenty bucks.

Don't worry, though, I have a solution. That solution is that the Boston Dynamics warehouse is not secured very well. Their robots are powered by a two-stroke lawnmower engine: it's like they wanted me to show up with a turbine-generator-powered plasma cutter and chop right through the rebar holding the walls of their robot storage lockup together. After that, it was a quick couple of dozen trips to the local electronics store to get the right USB-to-serial cable, and I soon had my harem of semi-autonomous Parts-Seeking Drones® roving the backwoods of America.

So, if you see a lanky, creaking doglike shape lurking outside your yard tonight, smelling oddly of pre-mix and human arterial blood, let it in your garage. All it wants to do is scan your spare parts so I can find that goddamn last piece of dash trim for the cruise control lever on my Volare. Don't worry: I won't have the robots kill you if you decide not to sell it to me after all. It would be hypocritical of me to judge another hoarder. We'll have coffee when I come see your town for the first time! We can trade junk and be best friends and call each other on the phone afterward and talk about nitrous oxide. No promises on what the robots will do if they search your entire property and don't find any Plymouth Volare stuff, though. I forgot to program that part before I let them out of radio range.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Self-healing circuit boards offer new path to reducing global e-waste

Between upgrades and breakdowns to cellphones, tablets, laptops, and appliances, so many electronics are getting tossed in the trash that they've taken on a name of their own: e-waste. According to a 2024 report issued by the United Nations, the amount of e-waste worldwide has almost doubled in the past 12 years, from 34 billion to 62 billion kilograms—the equivalent of 1.55 million shipping trucks—and it's estimated to hit 82 billion kilograms by 2030. Just 13.8 billion kilograms—about 20% of the total—is expected to be recycled, a number projected to remain flat. Put simply, we're throwing away more and more electronics, and recycling isn't keeping up. But a study in Advanced Materials by two Virginia Tech research teams offers a potential solution to the e-waste problem: a recyclable material that could make electronics easier to break down and reuse.

Read more.

[e-wastemart]

E-Waste Mart: Transforming Mumbai's Electronic Waste Management

Do you have old electronic gadgets lying around, gathering dust and cluttering your space? If so, you're not alone. With the rapid advancement of technology, electronic devices have become an indispensable part of our lives. However, this also means that the generation of electronic waste, or e-waste, is at an all-time high. Thankfully, in the bustling city of Mumbai, there is a solution to responsibly manage and recycle e-waste - E-Waste Mart.

What is E-Waste Mart?

E-Waste Mart is a pioneering e-waste management service in Mumbai that aims to address the growing concern of electronic waste. They have taken up the mantle to offer an environmentally friendly way to dispose of and recycle electronic items that have reached the end of their lifecycle. By doing so, they not only reduce the burden on landfills but also prevent hazardous substances from seeping into the soil and water, thus protecting the environment and public health.

Why is E-Waste Management Crucial in Mumbai?

As one of India's most populous and vibrant cities, Mumbai has a substantial appetite for electronic gadgets. With each passing year, countless devices like smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other electronic appliances are discarded in the city. Improper disposal of e-waste can lead to severe consequences, including soil and water contamination and adverse health effects.

E-Waste Mart recognizes the urgency of this issue and offers an efficient way to tackle it. By promoting responsible e-waste recycling, they play a crucial role in mitigating environmental hazards while also contributing to resource conservation through sustainable practices.

Services Offered by E-Waste Mart:

E-Waste Collection: E-Waste Mart provides convenient collection services for e-waste from residential and commercial spaces. They have established collection points at various locations across Mumbai, making it hassle-free for individuals and businesses to participate in responsible recycling.

Data Security: The team at E-Waste Mart understands the importance of data security when it comes to disposing of old gadgets. They ensure that all data-containing devices are handled with the utmost confidentiality, and proper data erasure procedures are followed.

Eco-Friendly Recycling: E-Waste Mart collaborates with authorized recycling centers to ensure that the e-waste is treated and recycled in an environmentally friendly manner. This way, they adhere to all the necessary guidelines and regulations while striving for a greener future.

Awareness Programs: Besides their core services, E-Waste Mart is committed to spreading awareness about the significance of responsible e-waste management. Through workshops and educational programs, they engage with communities, schools, and organizations to foster a sense of environmental responsibility.

How to Connect with E-Waste Mart:

If you're eager to contribute to the betterment of Mumbai's environment and want to responsibly dispose of your e-waste, visit the E-Waste Mart website. There, you will find all the necessary information about their services, collection points, and contact details.

Join hands with E-Waste Mart to make Mumbai a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable city. Let's take a step towards a brighter future by recycling our electronic waste responsibly!

Visit the E-Waste Mart website today to know more about E waste management or E waste recycling in Mumbai.

Remember, a small step from you can make a significant difference for our environment and future generations. Let's be responsible and together create a cleaner and healthier Mumbai!

[mostremote]

conclave fic sorta

i have a conclave AU I post about sometimes on the discord where Tedesco is elected Pope and then establishes a fascist dystopia. and then i wrote 2500 words where he has Aldo Bellini publicly castrated for being a sodomite. so here is that.

this is very rough so i won't post it on AO3 but uhhh if you want to read about aldo getting castrated........ here that is.

Under the dystopic regime of Tedesco, now Pope Pius and ruler of New Southern Europe, homosexuals are punished with public castration. Aldo Bellini is the first to be made an example.

It takes weeks for an elastrated scrotum to detach naturally. That’s no good for Tedesco, Pope Pius of the New Rome. How is the spectacle of castrating a homosexual supposed to hold people’s attention for three weeks?

Cardinal Lawrence consults doctors. He finds the best he can in Rome, which is difficult because so many have been executed for crimes against the regime (prescribing birth control, HRT, IVF, etc.). He conveys Tedesco’s dictum: elastrated castration achievable in under 24 hours. To this he has his own addenda: as painless as possible, as safe as possible, oh dear God please ease the suffering of this man.

The doctors consult. They grumble. This is really not within their usual expertise. But they find a solution. Thomas presents the planned procedure to Pope Pius and tries to draw no attention to the insistence on painkillers. But Tedesco sees. Tedesco notices everything. He waves his big and gold-glittering hand in dismissal.

‘Painkillers? We cannot be reborn without pain. We would do a disservice to the man. Chi non risica, non rosica.’

Thomas nods once. He has his marching orders. He gets very drunk that night on the Vatican wine which remains, even now, plentiful. He murmurs Aldo’s name into his pillow in the cardinal dormitory and tries to weep quietly so as not to disturb the other men. He would have cut off his own manhood with a boxcutter if it would spare Aldo, and he would do it gladly. He prays that Tedesco might have mercy, might change his mind, might let Thomas suffer in Aldo’s place. But prayers are so rarely answered in these blighted days.

Thomas visits Aldo’s cell the night before and conveys the intended procedure delicately. The room is dark and smells of mushrooms. Thomas can’t stop crying. Aldo is emaciated and calm but pallid. Long months out of the sun have bleached his rich skin.

‘Hey, at least this way it’ll be over quick,’ he says with a bright smile and a shrug of his wasted shoulder. ‘I hope I can put on a good show.’

The next day, there is a crowd of thousands gathered in St Peter’s basilica. Tedesco is seated on the balcony atop a throne of red and gold, exhaling smoke, the leonine dragon. Thomas has been put in charge of proceedings. It’s just another way to punish him. Keep his nose in it. Let him smell the shit.

Thomas strides to the H-shaped wooden structure that sits at the foot of the obelisk. He pretends to check the restraints, then quickly removes a piece of sandpaper and polishes the splintering wood. He tries to make it as comfortable as he can for his friend.

He has little time to work, however, as jeers of delight erupt from the crowd and tell him the penitent has been brought out. Thomas turns and tries to keep his heart in his chest when he sees his friends. Aldo walks unevenly, flanked by two guards. His eyes are shut tight against the daylight, his weak hand shielding the glare. And it’s such a hot day. Thomas wishes he had thought to remember sunscreen.

The guards bring him to the structure. Aldo comes to a halt beside it and he looks at it as though he is not sure if it is real. His eyes pass over Thomas and glaze over the crowds instead as the guards cut away his hairshirt. Aldo is limp and compliant. His eyes having adjusted, he squints out at the crowd with a polite question. Why have you all come? Is this what you wanted?

‘People of Rome,’ booms Tedesco’s voice, electronically amplified. It hurts Thomas’ ears. ‘We are gathered here to witness the correction of this penitent, a former sodomite, who recants his ways and has accepted purification so that he may be welcomed again into the love of God. Penitent, what have you to say?’

Thomas reaches inside his pocket for the microphone. His fingers are shaky and sweaty as he clicks it on. Aldo still does not look at him when the mic is positioned before his mouth.

Unevenly, Aldo recites the prepared statement. ‘I confess that I am a sodomite. I thank the Holy Father for his mercy and grace in allowing this purification. I pray that I will be welcomed into the bosom of the Lord.’

Cheers crash around them, as well as boos. People had hoped for resistance. They wanted blood.

The guards restrain Aldo facing the horizontal bar, arms outstretched like Christ, head awkwardly bent to one side against the wood. His pale skin gleams in the sun. Thomas’ eyes linger with confusion on his testicles and cannot quite make sense of what is about to happen.

A figure emerges from the basilica all in white, a black bag in hand. The doctor. Thomas dares to step close to his friend and whisper.

‘The pain will be greatest at first. It will get easier. Within six hours you will hardly feel a thing.’

A smile cracks Aldo’s already desiccated mouth. ‘Yeah, I’m sure.’

Then the doctor joins them. They all wait patiently. The doctor seems more interested in the details on the obelisk than the patient. The penitent. The condemned. And then a great gong rings out, and then it begins.

The mechanics are straightforward, relatively speaking. The doctor opens his bag and removes a tiny rubber band and a pair of pliers.

This is the hardest part, Thomas thinks. If he can get through this, it will all be alright.

The band is worked over the testicles and Aldo’s mouth is moving in prayer. Then he releases a shriek that sends a thousand needles through Thomas’ skin, the kind of high pitched sound a badger makes when beaten to death. It is not a sound that belongs in the mouth of Thomas’ clever New York friend. Aldo sucks in air through the sides of his mouth, through his dry teeth, as a second band is affixed. The testicles have reddened, pinched to an impossible point.

‘It’s alright, Aldo,’ Thomas murmurs. No one else can hear him. ‘Only one more to go for now.’

Aldo is staring up at the few clouds. ‘Fucking kyrie eleison,’ he manages, spraying spit.

Unheeding of his patient’s condition, the doctor removes a thermal box which is revealed to be full of ice. He sets this on a little stool with Aldo’s testicles immersed in it. The ice begins to melt in the hot Roman sun.

‘How are you doing, Aldo?’ Thomas asks.

His friend’s eyes are wild. ‘Thomas, I don’t think I can fucking do this. Oh my God. Oh fuck.’

‘You’ll be alright. I will be with you. It’s all very safe and there will be no lasting damage.’ This is a lie: it’s dangerous and sepsis could easily take him, even if he survives the procedure. But what does that matter now? ‘And the pain will lessen. This is the hardest part. You will go numb.’

‘Harden my fucking heart,’ Aldo howls. ‘Please, God, take this fucking pain from me.’

He is too lost in the pain of it all to notice the doctor bending to apply the last bands, but he gives another cracked yell when the fourth and fifth bands are added.

‘That’s all,’ says Thomas lightly. ‘That’s all the bands. Now we just… now we wait.’

Vaguely he hears the press of screaming, jubilant strangers around him. Aldo is crying. He gives a long, low yowl.

‘I should have killed myself,’ says Aldo through the pain. ‘I should have got out of it the day they elected Tedesco…’ His vision unfocuses. ‘Had I been a better man, they would have elected me… Too late… How unfortunate…’

Thomas takes out a bottle of water that Tedesco doesn’t know he brought with him. He can hardly stop him now.

‘Drink, Aldo.’

Aldo does, though much of it spills down his chin. The heat will get worse; it’s only the morning, after all. Twenty-four hours in the Roman sun with your testicles dying. Is this God’s plan?

There is little now for the doctor to do. He changes out the ice when it melts and he takes Aldo’s temperature, but the bands will do the rest of the work. The doctor has an aerosol that he sprays sometimes over the testicles, which makes Aldo gasp in relief. Something to keep the temperature low and to speed necrosis. All they have to do is wait for the flesh to rot.

People get bored after a few hours. There are hawkers selling snacks. Thomas watches Aldo anxiously and asks little questions to check if he’s still coherent. Aldo manages to respond, even when his testicles start to blacken. But in between their talk he sobs and gives increasingly weak screams.

Thomas takes a break to refill the water bottle, throw up in the toilets, and buy some sunscreen. He returns to find Aldo barely conscious, four hours into the procedure. The sun is climbing.

‘Here we go,’ says Thomas brightly, and he massages sunscreen onto Aldo’s reddening skin. ‘This will help. This will make everything a little bit better. How is the pain?’

Aldo is breathing shallowly and the tendons stand out along his arms. ‘Really fucking bad, Thomas.’ Tears drop from his face. ‘How much longer?’

Thomas glances at the great clock. They’re not even a fifth of the way through.

‘A little longer,’ he half-lies. ‘You’ll be alright. Would you like me to talk to you?’

‘I want to die.’

Thomas does not respond to that. Instead he starts to talk. He tells Aldo about the birds he sees when he goes birdwatching back in England, and how different they are to those in Italy. But the starlings are the same, always the same, in their big black clouds wheeling over the Roman sky. How he likes the little robins in winter; their red feathers, their black eyes.

Aldo is trembling.

Thomas’ back hurts from standing for—what, how long? Six hours?—but of course he does not say anything. Much of the crowd has dispersed. Tedesco still sits, staring, transfixed. There is nowhere else he’d rather be. Thomas gives Aldo water and sometimes he looks at the now deep black testicles and prays for a miracle. Please God, let them fall. Once they fall, Aldo can leave. I can bring him painkillers and he can rest.

But there is so long left.

Time ceases to matter. Reapply sunscreen. Give Aldo the water bottle. Thomas feels great relief when the bottle empties; then he can take a break, refill it, rest his head against the cool bathroom tile, retch, pray, and then return to his bound and naked friend. Offer more water. Tell more stories. Which to tell? Silly ones of them in Cambridge together. Does Aldo remember when he got drunk and tried to swim the Cam? How he had stank. And the time that they lay on the Backs and ate brie and drank stolen wine? And the time—

Aldo releases a huge sigh, emotionless but massive, a dying planet of a sigh.

‘Aldo?’

‘It hurts less,’ says Aldo dreamily. ‘It hurts. But less. It’s better.’

The doctor still sits with them, smoking a cigarette, bored and indifferent to the Roman sun, indifferent to Aldo. Thomas examines the testicles. The skin is peeling.

‘Is that a good sign?’ he whispers to the doctor.

He nods, bored. ‘It’s expected. Fifteen more hours, perhaps.’

Fifteen hours. That is so long. Thomas cannot imagine a longer length of time.

‘Soon the sun will set,’ he tells Aldo. ‘It’ll be cooler then.’

Aldo is sunburnt and shaking. His voice is weak. ‘I’m already so cold.’

Thomas frowns at that. The temperatures are approaching forty Celsius. He places a hand against Aldo’s head and finds it cool beneath the slimy sweat.

He drops to the doctor once again. ‘Doctor? He is very cold. Can we do anything?’

‘It’s fine.’ The doctor waves his thermometer. ‘It is expected his temperature will drop. It is normal.’

Nothing here is normal. Aldo’s eyes close. His breathing is odd, uneven, sometimes big and sometimes shallow. Thomas rubs sunscreen into his head and shoulders and back and hopes that this gentle touch will ease something inside him. Tedesco watches the massage of every wasted muscle and Thomas occasionally looks up and holds that abyssal gaze.

At midnight, eighteen hours in, Thomas allows himself to confront the doctor. Aldo hasn’t been conscious in a while.

‘Doctor? They’re all black now. Are we done? Can it be finished?’

The doctor sniffs and leans forward to examine them. Aldo jerks almost imperceptibly as fingers are sunk into black, dead flesh.

‘Nearly,’ he says.

‘How much longer?’

The doctor shrugs. His eyes glaze. What is he thinking of? A wife at home? A good drink and a steak? He is barely even here in this dark hell.

Thomas strokes Aldo’s head. He thinks of how, one day, he will take Aldo to England. They will holiday by the cold North Sea and eat fish and chips. They will take rain-battered walks and drink bad lager at the pub. He strokes that familiar skin and he sings something his mother once sang to him. ‘Oh, danny boy…’

It is nearly dawn. The crowds are bigger again; perhaps there is a livestream to tell them the progress, and perhaps they know the end is nigh. Thomas can’t see any change in the testicles; they’ve been black for hours. Aldo occasionally resurfaces into consciousness and whines and Thomas reassures him that he can go back to sleep, and then he does.

‘Last step,’ announces the doctor. Out of his bag he produces a hammer. Aldo remains unconscious.

‘Try not to hurt him,’ says Thomas, the empty incantation of a man with dead gods.

The doctor holds his hand around the pinched tip of the testicles. The crowd begins to chant rhythmically. Aldo stirs a little but does not wake.

The first blow does not sever the testicles entirely, but Thomas gasps with relief to see them half detach. Black stretched skin holds them dangling at a ridiculous angle. Aldo’s body only shudders. Then there is a second blow—and it’s done. The sac falls. The crowd unleash hysterical glee.

‘Aldo, Aldo,’ murmurs Thomas, running a hand over Aldo’s head. He is so cold. ‘It’s over. It’s finished. We can leave now.’

A smile, or perhaps just a muscle spasm, snatches at the side of Aldo’s mouth. Thomas does not wait for permission from Tedesco. He unties Aldo carefully and the body of his friend collapses, but he is able to catch him. Twenty-four hours standing witness to this abomination and it’s hard to keep Aldo upright, but Thomas manages.

‘We’re going to get you back to the dormitory,’ he whispers, and he ignores the cheers of the crowd as he leads Aldo back into the basilica. ‘Into your nice soft bed. And I’ll make a cup of tea. What would you like to eat? I’ve been saving my rations for you. There is pandoro.’

Aldo does not respond, limp in his arms, skin cool as stone.

‘I have paracetamol, and you can have my pillow and blanket, so you’ll be comfortable. So comfortable.’ He drags the body against his side. Over the roar of the crowd his scraping feet make smooth shhhk motions against the tile. He ought to be heavier. ‘I’ll sit with you as long as you need. You won’t be alone. I will take care of you, Aldo. Do you hear me?’

Thomas does not think Aldo can hear much of anything, and for that he is grateful, because he cannot hear the crowd chanting out sodomita, sodomita! And with his eyes closed, neither can he see Tedesco. Tedesco’s cloak dripping red, Tedesco’s eyes the blackest of bitter toffee. He stands finally and nods once. It is done. You have pleased me. Thomas nods back. He must be thankful.

After all, this could have been so much worse.

[reasonsforhope]

"Heat stored underground in caverns can be set aside in Finland’s summer months to be re-used during frigid winters thanks to a state-of-the-art ‘seasonal energy’ storage facility.

Slated for construction this summer near Helsinki, it will be the largest in the world by all standards and contain enough thermal energy to heat a medium-sized city all winter.

Thermal exchange heating systems, like those built underground, or domestic heat pumps, are seen as the most effective way available of reducing the climate-impact of home heating and cooling.

Their function relies on natural forces or energy recycling to cool down or heat up water and then using it to radiate hot or cold energy into a dwelling.

In Vantaa, Finland’s fourth largest city neighboring the capital of Helsinki, the ambitious Varanto seasonal energy storage project plans to store cheap and environmental friendly waste heat from datacenters, cooling processes, and waste-to-energy assets in underground caverns where it can be used to heat buildings via the district heating network whenever it is needed.

In Finland and other Nordic countries, the heat consumption varies significantly between seasons. Heat consumption in the summertime is only about one-tenth of the peak load consumption during the cold winter months.

Varanto will utilize underground caverns equal in space to two Maddison Square Gardens—over a million cubic meters—filled with water heated by this waste heat and pressure that will allow the water to reach temperatures of up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit without the water boiling or evaporating.

“The world is undergoing a huge energy transition. Wind and solar power have become vital technologies in the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy,” says Vantaa Energy CEO Jukka Toivonen.

“The biggest challenge of the energy transition so far has been the inability to store these intermittent forms of energy for later use. Unfortunately, small-scale storage solutions, such as batteries or accumulators, are not sufficient; large, industrial-scale storage solutions are needed. Varanto is an excellent example of this, and we are happy to set an example for the rest of the world.” ...

“Two 60-MW electric boilers will be built in conjunction with Varanto,” adds Toivonen. “These boilers will be used to produce heat from renewable electricity when electricity is abundant and cheap. Our heat-producing system will work like a hybrid car: alternating between electricity and other forms of production, depending on what is most advantageous and efficient at the time.”

... Construction of the storage facility’s entrance is expected to start in summer 2024, while it could be operational as early as 2028."

-via Good News Network, April 12, 2024. Video via VantaanEnergia, March 10, 2024