On Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:59:01 -0700, John Smith
wrote:

On 10/27/2011 6:30 PM, m II wrote:
[snip]
The evil is a bit more hidden that what you see there, on the surface.

Planned obsolescence causes you to purchase new items to replace the
old. The costs in resources, energy, oil, creation of pollution/toxins,
dumps fill with obnoxious wastes, etc. is slowly poisoning not only all
of us, but the whole planet.

The impetus should be placed on strong, durable, long lasting products,
if possible, possessions which will last a lifetime, or even be handed
down. The benefits in cost, heath and happiness would be astounding ...

Such as the Craftsman riding mower that I bought used several years
ago. Made in USA. Powered by Briggs & Stratton. Used weekly about
6-7 months out of the year. I have replaced the blades a couple of
times and the battery about a year ago. Otherwise, maintenance is
changing oil and filters, sharpening blades, new spark plug yearly. I
have a spare set of belts (drive and blades) but haven't yet needed to
replace either of them.

I also have a Craftsman self-propelled walk-behind that's probably 10+
years old. I replaced part of the drive mechanism several years ago.
Maintenance is changing oil, replacing air filter, replacing drive
belt, sharpening blade, new spark plug yearly.


Instead, we are a bunch of "moronic consumers." Trained to buy products
which wear our quickly, so we will consume more ... etc., the cycle is a
very vicious one. Not only depriving us of wealth and happiness, but
even our health and life.

To turn this absurdity of "consumerism" around, at this point, looks
like a monumental task bordering on the line of impossible!

It's all about who can make the widget cheapest and sell it for less.
WaMart wants suppliers to give them better prices each year to keep
their product(s) in the WalMart stores. For one-time-use things,
cheapest may be most economical, such as a drop cloth over an old
bookcase while painting a room - if some minimum level of protection
is adequate, the under $2 drop cloth may be fine. For covering
funriture being moved in the back of a pickup, I'll opt for something
sturdier- the cheapest possible covering will NOT survive the trip.

There are also the "new" gadgets that people don't know are old ideas
resurrected. Example: the Subaru ad touting their "hill holder" -
take your foot off the brake and the car won't roll back while the
clutch is in. The hill holder was introduced on the 1936 Studebaker,
so it's most defintely NOT new.


Indeed, laws are constructed to aid in the filling of dumps, and for
questionable reasons and refusal to debate other alternatives ...

Regards,
JS