toxic sludge and aluminum sourcing for bikes

[IH8Rice]

That's what happened to Jamaica, they were the top producer for a long time...

thats all i saw when i was there.

[SCARY]

When you pollute on that level, local government should be allowed to immediately seize all company assets and liquidate them to fix the damages. Utopia...here I come.

Mr.Butch,President Obama.President Obama,Mr.Butch.
You talk amongst yourselves.

[Lelandjt]

Can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. Just do the egg cracking somewhere I can't see it

[SCARY]

I heard today they were gonna abandon the town.Pretty sad stuff.Welcome to Earth.

[DirtMcGirk]

you are an asshole...

Would it have been better if I said "Better Hungary than Whistler?"

Quit your complaining. You, and I, are just as culpable because we ride bikes. Learn to have a sense of humor...

[bizutch]

here is some info on carbon fiber recycling: http://www.moldedfiberglass.com/libr...eclamation.pdf

There was a quote from a company right here in town I've never heard of. After reading their website M.I.T.http://www.emergingmit.com/services.html , I know why. They are way smartzor than I iz!

[Zorba]

If we could only grow carbon fibre bamboo hemp...seriously though, maybe bike companies (or someone) could offer old frame recycling incentives when buying new bikes? Guess it all comes down to $ in the end...

[no skid marks]

Steels better anyway. Buy steel frames. Simple.
I personally collect and recycle well over my bikes weight in ally and steel each year from the bush.
My car runs on LPG, my girls Deisel. Ideally here in Oz, I'd use natural gas, and am looking into it. Electric cars will be so rad, but the batteries still suck, and it's expensive to convert your car, and I know as soon as I do, some company will bring out a cheap one that's better.

[ChrisKring]

There was a quote from a company right here in town I've never heard of. After reading their website M.I.T.http://www.emergingmit.com/services.html , I know why. They are way smartzor than I iz!

yep, I actually had that in my original post but edited it out. The guys from MIT came in and pitched their technology to my group at work about 6 month ago. Pretty impressive. I really like the net shape preforms. They would be good for a small frame builder. hint to all those out there.

Anyway, they use post consumer bicycle parts as part of their feedstock.

[IH8Rice]

[slimshady]

I don't want to get into a political rant here, but I feel like I must say this: most of the members of the Monkey are either Canadian or American (funny thing, even when I'm from Argentina, in the south cone of the American Continent, seems like I don't qualify to be called "American"...). I have been to the 'States about two months ago. I saw a myriad of cars driving with just a person inside. Insanely big cars. With big engines. The only thing small with them is the mileage they get for each gallon of fuel. And even worse, seems like nobody can drive with a stick there. Every car has an automatic gearbox...

I don't want to put everybody in the same room, but after my short visit to USA I got thinking why do you people need those big engines and monstrous cars? Most of the people just drive from their homes to their workplaces and back home again (oh, wait, I just forgot the Starbucks drive-thru...).

The entire country is designed around cars. And those cars are fuel-hungry. And that hunger gets satisfied through wars. It's sad, but true.

Bikes don't make a significant part of aluminum use around the world. As it was said before in this thread, airplanes, power lines and cars get a bigger share.

[IH8Rice]

I don't want to put everybody in the same room, but after my short visit to USA I got thinking why do you people need those big engines and monstrous cars?

we buy them because we can.

[no skid marks]

I don't want to get into a political rant here, but I feel like I must say this: most of the members of the Monkey are either Canadian or American (funny thing, even when I'm from Argentina, in the south cone of the American Continent, seems like I don't qualify to be called "American"...). I have been to the 'States about two months ago. I saw a myriad of cars driving with just a person inside. Insanely big cars. With big engines. The only thing small with them is the mileage they get for each gallon of fuel. And even worse, seems like nobody can drive with a stick there. Every car has an automatic gearbox...

I don't want to put everybody in the same room, but after my short visit to USA I got thinking why do you people need those big engines and monstrous cars? Most of the people just drive from their homes to their workplaces and back home again (oh, wait, I just forgot the Starbucks drive-thru...).

The entire country is designed around cars. And those cars are fuel-hungry. And that hunger gets satisfied through wars. It's sad, but true.

Bikes don't make a significant part of aluminum use around the world. As it was said before in this thread, airplanes, power lines and cars get a bigger share.

Where do you draw the line? A bike still takes a lot of energy etc to make, and are generally designed to only last 5 years. Pretty stupid in my mind, when the technoligy is there to make them last longer with probably zero handicap, and using steel could halve the environmental impact.
Recycling is a huge part overlooked though. Just recycle your cracked frames, and even small parts correctly and you're making a huge difference. Better still, ask your local bike shop if they recycle, if not, ask to leave a bin there, and get them to call when filled, you pick up, sort, and sell, it'll pay for your time.

[slimshady]

Where do you draw the line? A bike still takes a lot of energy etc to make, and are generally designed to only last 5 years. Pretty stupid in my mind, when the technology is there to make them last longer with probably zero handicap, and using steel could halve the environmental impact.
Recycling is a huge part overlooked though. Just recycle your cracked frames, and even small parts correctly and you're making a huge difference. Better still, ask your local bike shop if they recycle, if not, ask to leave a bin there, and get them to call when filled, you pick up, sort, and sell, it'll pay for your time.

I now realize I got too fundamental (and judgemental) in my previous post. Even when USA is the biggest resource hog at the industrial countries, the whole world's problems wouldn't be solved if the whole nation starts recycling at its maximum capacity. Recycling policies should not only be encouraged by every single government in the world, but also enforced. We are all stressing the ability of our environment to re-incorporate our waste and non-recycled debris. Don't get me wrong, I'm nothing closer to a tree hugger or environmental activist. It's just a matter of survival.

On the other hand, when you are closer to the lowest strata of the economy pyramid, you just don't mind recycling. Your whole life spins around your next meal... A few years ago, my brother started a project here in La Plata, Argentina, to teach indigent people how they could organize and get a bigger profit by collecting and recycling collectively than the one they got by digging individually in the richer people's garbage. It didn't last long, but that was due to a poor support from the local government. Try to explain to the people in Ghana, Iraq, India, Serbia, or even here in Argentina, how recycling will affect their life and the ones of their offspring. All they care about is today, because when it comes to future, they can't take anything for granted.

[slimshady]

we buy them because we can.

Well, seems like I stroke a soft spot there... I'd say if you can buy them, you can start thinking about everyone else...