News, Toxic mercury junked along with clunkers. (recycle, gas, pollution)
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WASHINGTON - As hundreds of thousands of clunkers head to the scrap yard, General Motors has dropped out of a partnership that collects toxic parts from recycled automobiles to prevent mercury pollution.
Participants in the environmental program told The Associated Press the timing of GM's departure could undermine their work.
The bigger concern is what is being spewed from Asia and natural sources:
Quote:
The U.S. is the third largest emitter of anthropogenic mercury although its emissions, estimated to account for roughly three percent of the global total, are far lower than emissions from China, the largest source globally. In the U.S. and globally, coal combustion is the largest source of anthropogenic mercury emissions. (United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), The Global Atmospheric Mercury Assessment: Sources, Emissions and Transport (PDF), Geneva, 2008) (44 pp., 6.8M, about PDF).
EPA has estimated that about one third of U.S. emissions are deposited within the contiguous U.S. and the remainder enters the global cycle
Mercury is global problem, partially related to natural emissions
I doubt there is anything green about it, for example my father would have considered doing this if his truck was worth less than the rebate. He would have traded in for new car, sold the existing car and went and bought a new full sized gas guzzling truck. I should note he has need for his truck.
The other issues is it takes quite a bit of energy to produce a car/truck so what lifetimes they had left has been wasted. The total environmental impact has increased for each car/truck traded in because it's full potential for use has not been reached for emissions already emitted.
Around here thousands of buildings were demolished with mercury switches in thermostats and nobody cared. Whenever I was in one to salvage something I made it a point to recover the switches myself to avoid pollution. Best part is that i was able to make a mercury vacuum valve for my neon gas station here.
The bigger concern is what is being spewed from Asia and natural sources:
Mercury is global problem, partially related to natural emissions
No kidding!
Two of the biggest could care less polluters, China & India, have told the rest ofthe world to kiss off. They say the Industrialized countries had their shot at wealth creation and now it's their turn. No one but no one has the ability to turn things around as for what these two bohemoths are going to do to the environment. The only thing that could be done would be a complete boycott of their goods, but those things have never really worked.
In the end I don't think their is any human idea or answer to this.
You can get mercury in a lot of things. You get it in tuna. In some fish.
You surely arent going to put an end to pollution just by collecting parts off of junked out cars. The higher toxins are in styrofoam and plastics, which might be convenient weight-wise but thats the only good from it. *sigh*
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I should note he has need for his truck.
