Moore's Garbage Law and the Soon to be Obsolete USB Connector

Did you hear there is going to be a faster USB coming out soon? It will have a nifty new plug. Now I will need to go out and buy all new peripherals. The USBIF has been taking lessons from Apple and Intel. It's called planned obsolescence. http://news.yahoo.com/future-usb-charger-reversible-141933870.html?bcmt=comments-postbox 

This is an example of Moore's law in action. 

Moore's law was a self serving prediction made by Intel's co-founder Gorden E Moore. His prediction was that the number of transistors or circuits, or the capacity of computing doubles every two years. Moore set the bar for the advancement of computer technology, and for the most part the computer industry has met that challenge. It has fueled the fast advancement in computer technology since the Apple II computer went on the market in 1977. It had a 1 MHz processor and 4 kb of memory. Today computers have 3GHz processors and 8GBs of memory.

There is a downside to all of this push in technological advancement: E Waste. If new computer capacity doubles every two years, that means within four years of buying a computer it becomes relatively obsolete, unless you can upgrade it. So what happens? It is thrown in the trash and replaced with a new computer.
"Rapid changes in technology, changes in media (tapes, software, MP3), falling prices, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of electronic waste around the globe. Dave Kruch, CEO of Cash For Laptops, regards electronic waste as a "rapidly expanding" issue." An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year.^[1] (Sthiannopkao S, Wong MH. (2012) Handling e-waste in developed and developing countries: Initiatives, practices, and consequences. Sci Total Environ.)

Since 1995 USB standard plug has not changed. USB 3.0 and 2.0 fit into the original USB 1.0 slot. This has made USB the most widely used form of connecting peripherals like Harddrives, keyboards,  Mice, Phones etc to a computer. It has outlived Apple's firewire, and it could outlive Apple's new lightning if they just stuck to their standard. But by changing their connection they are taking away the one advantage they had, compatibility. The USB-IF should stick to their standard and show Apple that Planned Obsolescence will be Busisness Taboo.

Moore's law is the law of garbage. It is time to come up with a new law, a new standard for technology where connectors don't change every couple years, and when they are changed, they are backwards compatible, where new hardware is made backwards compatible and old hardware is supported for at least 8 years, and made to be upgradable.

Plastic Places:Lake Ontario

A couple weeks ago I went on a fishing charter with a friend. The waves were too strong so we didn't stay out too long. Instead we rented kayaks and fished along the pier. To get there we had to squeeze through some brush, we found a hidden cove. everywhere I stepped there was broken up plastic debris that had been washed up on shore by the waves.

A balloon, a water bottle, a McDonald's cup

a bottle cap and various other unidentifiable pieces.

there was no way I could pick up all that debris. so I just took some shots.

It made me think of 5Gyre's recent voyage to chart plastic in the Great Lakes. Yup, just like all the other great seas and oceans, It is plagued by non-biodegradable garbage. Oh well, time to go fishing.

Plastic Solutions Checkpoint: Diaper Duty

Back in December we were blessed to welcome a new member to our family.  He's an absolutely adorable, giggly, ray of sunshine (so we're probably a little biased on that one) but man oh man, the diapers. Now everyone knows it's probably one of the most challenging parts of having little ones at home - they make a lot of messes and there's no doubt about it that between the diapers, the wipes, their packaging, and the trash bags - it's a lot of plastic. We were filling up a medium size trash bag pretty much every week with just diapers.

Well, back with our second child we tried to go for cloth diapers - I can't remember how long I kept it up for but it really didn't work out or last long. Still, after a few months of watching the diapers fly into that trash bag faster than I could imagine we decided that we'd go ahead and try it again. This time I really wanted to research it out so I knew what I was doing.

There really are a ton of different options out there. They all have pro's and con's. Honestly it can be kind of intimidating trying to figure it all out. Thankfully I still had the diapers from last time as a starting base. Ultimately after going through all the rounds of pre-fold, all-in-ones, etc. I decided that we would just get a few covers for the diapers that we already have. We also got some all-in-ones that would hopefully make things a little easier when other people were changing him. Our current diaper stash includes 12 Kissaluvs fitted size 2 diapers, 2 Blueberry One Size Coveralls, and 3 Swaddlebees (now Blueberry) Simplex All-in-One Diapers.

When I was selecting which diapers to get I had one major requirement. I wanted them to last until we were done with diapering. Since I was starting with a 4.5 month old this was a little easier. The diapers we got all had multiple adjustments for as the baby grows and will fit up from about 12 to 35 lbs. They were also all rated for long-lasting quality. I didn't want to have to buy two or three sets of diapers as he grew out of them or as they wore out. What you get depends on what is most important to you and how much money you can set aside to start out but I would advise thinking about the long term costs etc.

In addition to the diapers I also wanted to know how to take care of them. Part of this for me involved getting some wet bags. We got two from Planet Wise - 1 large that I could use for the bulk of the diapers and 1 small that I could bring along with me when we go out. Honestly this is something that is pretty straightforward but does have an ick factor. Maybe because baby is number 3 and the ick doesn't bother me as much but overall it's really not bad. Before the diapers are used they need to be washed at least three times before they get to be absorbent enough to be worn (they'll continue to get more so over the next few washes as well). After that whenever they're wet I just take them off and put them in the wet bag. I wipe the cover and reuse it with the next diaper unless it's gotten soiled. When there's more than wet in the diaper I just take it to the toilet and wipe it off with toilet paper and flush it. When the bag is full I throw them all into the washer, run it through with unscented laundry soap on a quick cold cycle. Then I run them through on a hot cycle that has an extra cold rinse at the end. About once a week I throw the wet bag in with them. Then I throw the diapers in the dryer until they're done (now that's summer I'm looking forward to being able to hang them out on a line). We end up washing diapers about every day or two (you really shouldn't leave them any longer than that) So far seems to do it pretty well.

Now I'll admit that as of yet I haven't tried them at night time. Mostly because I just can't deal with trying to wake up enough to change him during the night. So he usually uses 1-2 disposable diapers a day. One thing I didn't realize until we began using these is just how much babies usually wet. The disposable ones make it hard to tell sometimes. Although you can leave the disposable on even when they're wet I really think that knowing that he's wet and getting to change it without worrying about running out of diapers has been a great part of the whole experience. It does mean that I usually change diapers about every 1.5-2 hours though, we have gone about 4 before when we were out and trying to get back home. Honestly I've never had a leak or mess that the diapers haven't been able to take care of. (Part of this is probably due to having a decent diaper cover this time around - it was definitely one of the headaches from last time when we just had the super cheap ones)

So for cost - we ended up spending about $125 on what we purchased new. Still if we were to be using disposables at a minimum of 5 a day (that would be definitely more than one time wetting) we would be spending about $40.00 a month on diapers. So all in all it works out pretty well cost wise.

Now, our covers and bags do all have plastic. Still, I figure it's using a lot less of it over all. If you have the means of doing so there are all natural fiber options that some people seem to love. They do run more expensive though so for us they weren't a good fit.

Overall There was a little bit of an upfront cost, but there are options that run much less expensive than what we got. Some require more work (having to fold and pin them), some wear out sooner but might get you through a year or two. It does make for extra loads of laundry. If you don't have a laundry machine, having to go to a laundry mat would make it much more expensive and time consuming. Other than that, it really has been worth it! Plus they're incredibly super cute!

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Plastic Places: The Connecticut River

Spring is finally here. The snow is almost gone and the rivers are flowing high. The water is still a little cold for kayaking, but I thought it would be a good time to do a post on the Connecticut River. Last week I stopped by the dam in Bellows Falls. A lot of debris has collected over the winter and Spring melt.

 

Part of the dam has stopped debris from flowing on. Mixed in with all the branches and wood was a lot of plastic. How much plastic can you find in this picture?

It looks like dams stop quite a bit of plastic from making it all the way to the ocean, but they don't catch everything, especially if the water gets high enough. There are different types of dams, some that allow water to pass, and some that don't. Many dams are built with a spillway. A spillway is a section of a dam designed to pass water from the upstream side of a dam to the downstream side.

The day before Hurricane Irene hit New England a couple years ago I went to the Holyoke Dam which is further down the Connecticut River. The Holyoke Dam has been providing power to the Paper City since 1870, when it was rebuilt. It is an hidro-electric dam with several channels, overflows and waste-weirs. (www.holyokemass.com)

Twelve channels divert water to power the hydro-electric turbine. The dam is designed to allow a steady flow independent of the water level. If it gets high enough, the water flows right over the waste-weir dam.

During Irene, whole houses were floating down the Connecticut. I was able to get some shots the day after. I went to Springfield and Bellows Falls. I saw a porch, a couple gas tanks, lots of various plastic bottles and containers, several basket balls, and a lot of lumber. The person next to me said they saw a fiberglass bathtub going down the river just before I showed up.

A lot of debri went out to sea from Irene, But it isn't just after a big hurricane that you see plastic flowing down the river. Last fall we were exploring places to go kayaking, and we found a current along the Connecticut that had collected several items of plastic trash. 

 There is something about rivers. People have been living near rivers since civilization began. Before the Industrial Revolution, it was one of the main sources of transportation, one of the main sources of power. Rivers provided drinking water, and connected communities. You can still travel from town to town, by river. Many cities are built on the shores of rivers. Waste made by man has flown out to sea for centuries. But until the invention of plastics most waste would biodegrade. Now the waste that flows down the river will outlive us five times. The next time you are out enjoying the nice weather this spring, please take the time to pick up three plastic items you see littering the streets. Most likely there is a river or steam near by that leads to the sea.

Sanctuary

Last week we took our children to The Vermont Institute of Natural Science. It is a great place for hands on learning. 

VINS is a bird sanctuary in Vermont. We got see owls, eagles and hawks and many other birds that have been rescued and brought back to health. They keep the birds that will not be able to survive in the wild because of their injuries. A plaque by each cage gives a description of the birds in it. 

 Each bird has a story to tell of what happened to them. The cause of the injury is written on the plaque if it is known. Many of the injuries they know about were caused by vehicles, but there are a variety of causes.

One information plague describes what one could do to limit the risk of harm to birds. Birds frequently perish in snarls of discarded mono-filament fishing line and other non-biodegradable debris. You can help by cleaning up shore lines.

 The day after our excursion to the Vermont Institution of Natural Science I found a hurt crow. We were going to take him to the rehabilitation center the next day, but he died during the night. We buried him and said good bye. 

Birds need a sanctuary, a place away from the dangers and pollution caused by man. Yet even an island Midway across the pacific is not far enough away. It is often too late for many of the birds found. Even if there were more bird rehabilitation centers. Hopefully they have been able to reproduce before they accumulate too much plastic.