tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post1961924864031795794..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Recycling as Self-FlagellationGus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-87031167818388806522010-06-15T04:35:46.019-06:002010-06-15T04:35:46.019-06:00Not only that, environmentalists also oppose recyc...Not only that, environmentalists also <i>oppose</i> recycling in one blatant case when it <i>would</i> make lots of sense: spent nuclear fuel.<br /><br />It is remarkable how intrinsicism skews the evaluation of a type of act whose merit, like any other, depends on evaluating rational values <i>in context</i>. <br /><br />There are many cases of recycling actually making sense, but not being called such. Usually these are in an industrial context and have gone on for years. But these go unnoticed and unpraised because they actually promote human life. OTOH, recycling -- when it wastes our time and more valuable resources -- is treated like a holy ritual.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-70181811949193251692010-06-14T20:27:34.281-06:002010-06-14T20:27:34.281-06:00The problem is that recycling does not even do wha...The problem is that recycling does not even do what it purports. In most cases the energy required to recycle is greater than what would be required to make the material from scratch.<br /><br />You might notice whenever an example is given about how much energy can be saved the example given is always aluminum (usually cans). The reason is that aluminum is actually a case where recycling can save energy - in most of the other cases it actually costs energy. They use the only example they can to make the point. Think, for example about the effort which has to go into recycling newsprint including some pretty harsh chemicals which must be used to remove the ink. If you follow this argument to the logical conclusion you end up with recycling contributing to global warming…. Hmm. <br /><br />Environmentalism is a particularly nasty religion, in may ways worse than the traditional religions. Rob Lyons seems to come close to making this connection but in reality recycling is not just like a penance but in fact IS a penance.Steve Dnoreply@blogger.com