Community Stories

Our home, Earth, is crumbling in front of our eyes...

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Stripey
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Archer Archer
I'm fortunate to have a tree service guy just down the road from me (or I did as he just retired, and sold his property for development). So for any large jobs, he gets the call. I have had to take out at least 40 Ash trees on my property, due to the Emerald Ash borer - another invasive species originally imported into the US, and it made it's way North to Canada (crossed from Detroit area where it was well established to Windsor, Ontario) back in 2002.

In 2003 there was an attempt to stop it by picking the narrowest part of Southwestern Ontario, and cutting down every ash tree they could find in a 10 km swath that stretched across the entire province. Making sort of a "fire break" that they hoped it would not pass - that failed, and by 2007 they had reached my property. I tried everything I could to save the biggest trees, including spending thousands per tree to have sort of "injections" into the tree that would kill these things, done by a certified arborist - it was all in vain.

Last one was removed late last year:



This is the damage they do under the bark - it kills the tree's ability to take up water and nutrients from the soil:



It's an entirely man made problem, and the likely source has been traced to wood shipping pallets that were made of infected wood, and not properly treated to kill these pests off before being shipped all over the place. Canada and the US had a treaty exempting each other from the heat treating requirements - big mistake. By saving corporations money, we all paid the price - it has since spread much further, costing home and property owners a crapload of money, as well as municipalities..

Actions have consequences - that's really what this thread is all about.

Cheers, Al
In England, we have ash dieback, which has meant us losing two one hundred year old ashes. It is the Dutch Elm Disease of the 2010s and 2020s.
 
Rochete
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M Mediocre
How many people here own (and continue to acquire) unnecessary watches?

I do. All the time. But all my watches are recycled and made long long ago.
 
Tony C.
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Rochete Rochete
I believe the single thing I or anyone could do to save the planet is to stop buying anything made in China.

In the case of American citizens, I would argue that there is much more potential in fighting to greatly reduce military funding. Not only would that, for obvious reasons, make the world far safer, but the U.S. military alone is an enormous polluter.

There are several problems with boycotting Chinese goods, not least of which is that so many products made by companies outside of China employ Chinese parts in their manufacturing. Also, countless people in the U.S. cannot afford to buy more expensive, domestically (or EU) produced alternatives.
 
STANDY
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Archer Archer
I'm fortunate to have a tree service guy just down the road from me (or I did as he just retired, and sold his property for development). So for any large jobs, he gets the call. I have had to take out at least 40 Ash trees on my property, due to the Emerald Ash borer - another invasive species originally imported into the US, and it made it's way North to Canada (crossed from Detroit area where it was well established to Windsor, Ontario) back in 2002.

In 2003 there was an attempt to stop it by picking the narrowest part of Southwestern Ontario, and cutting down every ash tree they could find in a 10 km swath that stretched across the entire province. Making sort of a "fire break" that they hoped it would not pass - that failed, and by 2007 they had reached my property. I tried everything I could to save the biggest trees, including spending thousands per tree to have sort of "injections" into the tree that would kill these things, done by a certified arborist - it was all in vain.

Last one was removed late last year:



This is the damage they do under the bark - it kills the tree's ability to take up water and nutrients from the soil:



It's an entirely man made problem, and the likely source has been traced to wood shipping pallets that were made of infected wood, and not properly treated to kill these pests off before being shipped all over the place. Canada and the US had a treaty exempting each other from the heat treating requirements - big mistake. By saving corporations money, we all paid the price - it has since spread much further, costing home and property owners a crapload of money, as well as municipalities..

Actions have consequences - that's really what this thread is all about.

Cheers, Al

This is why Australia and New Zealand have so strict quarantine laws.

Surprisingly the rest of the world is finally upping its game since 2000 and the UK foot and mouth outbreak.
 
Rochete
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Tony C. Tony C.
There are several problems with boycotting Chinese goods, not least of which is that so many products made by companies outside of China employ Chinese parts in their manufacturing.

Of course a manufactures repatriation policy must be conducted. China became the world factory in a mere 20 yrs, it could be similarly stripped of that status. That sounds to me easier and more constructive than defunding the US military.

Also, countless people in the U.S. cannot afford to buy more expensive, domestically (or EU) produced alternatives.

Can they afford solar panels or electric cars?
 
Archer
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STANDY STANDY
This is why Australia and New Zealand have so strict quarantine laws.

Surprisingly the rest of the world is finally upping its game since 2000 and the UK foot and mouth outbreak.

Well, it's a little easier for you guys, being islands...

Our border with the US is close to 9,000 kms long, and there are 119 crossings. Best numbers I could find are from 2010, and back then roughly 300,000 people cross this border every day (much less during the pandemic), and nearly 30,000 trucks of goods cross the border each day.

There are instances when things like car parts (sub-assemblies) may cross the border 4 or 5 times before being actually put in a car, as our industries are so intertwined. The focus on both sides (most of the time) is keeping the free flow of goods moving between countries, because economies on both sides depend on it. Is that the right focus? A good question. Should we be doing more with regards to inspections? Absolutely. Would it require massive resources? Again absolutely.

Unfortunately here we don't see the very direct impacts of imported species like you do down under. So for most it isn't top of mind.
 
Tony C.
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Rochete Rochete
f course a manufactures repatriation policy must be conducted. China became the world factory in a mere 20 yrs, it could be similarly stripped of that status

Stripped of that status? How, exactly, do you imagine that such a thing might occur? Where would all of the goods manufactured there be produced?
 
pdxleaf
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STANDY STANDY
This is why Australia and New Zealand have so strict quarantine laws.

Surprisingly the rest of the world is finally upping its game since 2000 and the UK foot and mouth outbreak.


The rest of the world probably has more to fear from Australia than Australia does from us. There's a boatload of creatures down under that we would not want here. Practically every other thing will sting you, eat you, bite you, or kill you. 😉
 
Wetworks
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The Father The Father
The self-assuredness and lack of ones one character in this thread is tiresome, especially on something as decadent as watch collectors site.
Hope we do not mind that I took the liberty to translate the comment into specific English. I am a little slower than most.

There is no incongruity between owning or enjoying a “luxury” watch and caring and acting in manner for the betterment of the environment as it relates to lessening effects on the Earths amazing possibly one of kind climate.

Now when billionaire assholes take dozens of private jets to a Jackson Hole Wyoming exclusive resorts and scold us common folk on climate change. (Had to close surrounding air space so all the private jets could take off)
“Do as I say, not as I do” Well to put it mildly, eat me.

I don't disagree with 'good for me, not for thee' observation, but to blow off what I said is a bit hypocritical, sorry. Watch manufacturers aren't exactly green in their footprint, and the necessity of said footprint is in question as they are in fact an indulgence. So yes, as a collector you are contributing to further pollution of the environment for selfish reasons, however small that may be. I suppose as an Omega fan you COULD get a bit of a pass as their biggest customer base is not Europe/NA/AUS, but China. But that's a different conversation...
 
Archer
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So...back to the subject of the thread. Our old composter was small in size, with small opening that made it difficult to turn the contents, so when the municipality offered new composters for little money, we got one. Of course it helps them reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill, so a win-win. Today's job (after playing tennis and cutting the grass) was to set this one up in it's new home:



Bonus shots of the bees enjoying the echinacea flowers, that are fully in bloom:





Cutting the grass is always a challenge this time of year. In late spring and through the summer we have hoards of small toads around, so my wife and I have hand signals we give to each other to signal that the toads are out, so we can avoid them. Today I saw 8 and moved 6, and my wife saw another 8 and moved 2. Sometimes you are lucky and they are headed off to an area already cut, so we don't move those - the less toad piss I get on my hands the better! With all the mosquitoes we have around this year, those toads are our good friends and we want to keep them doing their jobs, as we need all the help we can get.
 
MTROIS
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Composting is something we have wanted to start for a while... does anybody have a composter to recommend?

We live in a townhome, so it is not like we have a garden where to use the compost, but I would be happy to bring it to the forest adjacent to our property.

Any tip or recommendation would be welcome as composting the leftovers of the produce we use to cook would probably allow us to reduce our weekly garbage load by close to 40%!
 
Observer
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dsio dsio
Had to clean up some fighting and political stuff, try to be cool to each other.
Dang! I miss all the good stuff.
 
Watch my Whisky
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Public transportation everyday.
Plant heavy diet.
Curse the boomers.
Own bags to grocery store.
No bottled water.
No wasting food.
 
JwRosenthal
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Gen X’er, once again- we get overlooked. All about the boomers and millennials and Z’r’s….sigh 😬
 
Darlinboy
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There was an old man who lived by a forest. As he grew older and older, he started losing his hair, until one day, on his deathbed, he was completely bald. That day, he called his children to a meeting...
renderTimingPixel.png

He said, "Look at my hair. It used to be so magnificent, but it's completely gone now. My hair can't be saved. But look outside at the forest. It's such a lovely forest with so many trees, but sooner or later they'll all be cut down and this forest will look as bald as my hair."

"What I want you to do..." the man continued. "Is, every time a tree is cut down or dies, plant a new one in my memory. Tell your descendants to do the same. It shall be our family's duty to keep this forest strong."

And so they did.

Each time the forest lost a tree, the children replanted one, and so did their children, and their children after them.

And for centuries, the forest remained as lush and pretty as it once was, all because of one man and his re-seeding heirline.
 
Doc Savage
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Darlinboy Darlinboy
There was an old man who lived by a forest. As he grew older and older, he started losing his hair, until one day, on his deathbed, he was completely bald. That day, he called his children to a meeting...
renderTimingPixel.png

He said, "Look at my hair. It used to be so magnificent, but it's completely gone now. My hair can't be saved. But look outside at the forest. It's such a lovely forest with so many trees, but sooner or later they'll all be cut down and this forest will look as bald as my hair."

"What I want you to do..." the man continued. "Is, every time a tree is cut down or dies, plant a new one in my memory. Tell your descendants to do the same. It shall be our family's duty to keep this forest strong."

And so they did.

Each time the forest lost a tree, the children replanted one, and so did their children, and their children after them.

And for centuries, the forest remained as lush and pretty as it once was, all because of one man and his re-seeding heirline.
LOL that's great 😁
 
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