Licho

Controversial take. #biodegradability is only a value in a disposable, use once and throw away style economy. It is an attempt to make utterly unsustainable consumer capitalism of disposables kinda work to keep producing things that break to be thrown away over and over.

Indestructible things designed to last, with NO end-of-life don't need to be biodegradable. Things that you would pass to your children.

In "Hyperion" there were ancient pieces of electronics that obviously worked. That's what we should be doing.

#solarpunk

Dec 22, 2024 at 10:47amWeb
Show threadAKingsburyDec 22, 2024

@licho

I think there's something to be said for accepting that some things will stop working, even for designing them with that in mind. Making things more robust takes more resources. And a thing that lasts forever may delay the adoption of a much better thing. Forks? Sure, pass 'em on to the grandkids, not much innovation there. But my fridge? WAY more efficient than what my grandmother had; much better for the environment.

Show threadLichoDec 22, 2024

@AlexanderKingsbury I would argue that making a thing more robust takes less resources than making the same thing over and over again.

I'm also not convinced that your grandmother's fridge was that much less efficient than what you have now. Joule's Thompson effect is pretty simple and has been well understood for almost two centuries and if it was well insulated, it should have been pretty efficient already. It probably ran on freon though.

I think mature technologies should be transitioning into permanence.

Edit: I found some charts, a modern one is like 4x more efficient than in the 70s, that's more than I expected indeed

Show threadAKingsburyDec 22, 2024

@licho

It does often take less resources to make something once than to make a flimsier version of the same thing many times, I agree. But I'm not talking about making the same thing; I'm talking about making a better thing to replace the worn out thing. I'm talking about not enshrining immature technologies (of which there are many) into permanence or semipermanence.

Show threadTor-björn ClaessonDec 22, 2024

@licho

While this is beside your main, correct point, it is nice though, when well build things that leak into the environment (because people are lazy, accidents etc.) are biodegradable.

Show threadLee 🌏Jan 1, 2025
@licho We should look at all consumption through a "what's best" hierarchy.
Not requiring
Reususing
Repurposing
Composting
Recycling