tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post2994605567294455200..comments2024-03-28T11:16:30.313+02:00Comments on Thoughts from Botswana by Lauri Kubuitsile: A Disposable SocietyLaurihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112458658109887868noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-20044895867523746462009-10-07T10:25:38.778+02:002009-10-07T10:25:38.778+02:00Unaswi- you are so right about us Batswana being v...Unaswi- you are so right about us Batswana being very unconcerned about the environment. I used to live in Lecheng and we got water from four boreholes. Pipes used to fall in the borehole and they'd just sink another one. Think of all of the oil and metal and other stuff getting in that aquifer- a huge one serving most of Tswapong. It used to give me sleepless nights. But I have to say recently I was doing research for the science textbook I'm writing and I came across an environmental impact assessment of the water situation in Lobatse (it is dire BTW) but there I realised there is now a master plan for water. There are people paying attention to what is happening and trying to insist on environmentally sustainable methods- though in some case like Lobatse - too little too late. I'm also happy about the Green Scorpions though they need to be given some 'poison'. But I agree -I'm shocked that Batswana seem to think it is fine to throw litter around and cut trees.Laurihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11112458658109887868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-20180907430546570622009-10-07T02:07:26.698+02:002009-10-07T02:07:26.698+02:00I don't think it's that writers are necess...I don't think it's that writers are necessarily more frugal, I think it has a lot to do with us being aware that there is a limited amount of space left to hold the stuff we dispose of.<br /><br />I have a 20 year old car. People are always going on at me to replace it. It has done 160,000KMS and still goes really well. It is a BMW and I used to race it back in the day so I have a lot of time invested in it. If it starts to experience mechanical problems I will recondition the engine. I can also respray it and reupholster it if need be. I love that car and there is no way I will send it to landfill.<br /><br />Being a disposable society is bad for the environment and keeps us in debt as we upgrade to the newest, shiniest thing that we don't really need. We have to change the way we look at the things we acquire. This is a very important post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-39777270410206074952009-10-07T00:50:12.286+02:002009-10-07T00:50:12.286+02:00thanks for your post; i like the idea of keeping t...thanks for your post; i like the idea of keeping things and being frugal, i also like the idea that Batswana are able to afford cars with the import of Japanese cars. however, i am concerned that they will eventually cause pollution, not only that, i am concerned with how we in Botswana are not having discussions on how to take care of the environment, going green and all the like.Unaswinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-1310014608241706582009-10-06T21:56:38.834+02:002009-10-06T21:56:38.834+02:00I save my writing, too. Some people say don't ...I save my writing, too. Some people say don't save the hard copies, just the digital ones. But I save a hard copy of most. I've had too many hard drives die or backups get corrupted.<br /><br />Your friend may have been wrong, but I swear manufacturers today are now making things with an expiration date built in. You get a new fridge today and it'll break down in a few years. Yet I have a freezer that's older than my kids, still running. And it's been used and abused. My husband uses it as an extension of his work bench.<br /><br />Helen<br /><a href="http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Straight From Hel</a>Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-64020468443344085612009-10-06T21:44:52.499+02:002009-10-06T21:44:52.499+02:00I love that we own our cars free and clear. I don&...I love that we own our cars free and clear. I don't need the brightest, newest car to feel good about myself. There's nothing wrong with buying a new car, I just don't want the payments.<br /><br />My mother and father lived through the Great Depression. (My mother's family lived in a tent for a almost a year.) They taught us kids about the value of a dime. Frugality is esteemed in our family. Some think we're weird, but we don't care.<br /><br />I save everything I write too. It's time for a new computer, but I'm reluctant, this one's been very good to me. When I replace this one I am giving it to a dear friend that has little money and doesn't have one. I promised to teach her how to use it.Elizabeth Bradleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03150221675618198674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-1883475525901087192009-10-06T20:44:34.091+02:002009-10-06T20:44:34.091+02:00Miss Footloose that is one thing I HATE- things th...Miss Footloose that is one thing I HATE- things that are made to break and never be fixed. I used to own a business and some of our machines we used were like that. <br /><br />Elspeth- In Botswana we get Japan and Singapore's throw away cars. Someone told me that there is a rule in Japan that they must get rid of their cars after a certian number of years or they get big taxes. I guess it's to promote their car industry. They bring them to Africa. So you can get pretty nice cars with air con and radios for pretty cheap.Laurihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11112458658109887868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-90481731982669749552009-10-06T18:34:08.723+02:002009-10-06T18:34:08.723+02:00I admire your attitude, Lauri. We buy used cars b...I admire your attitude, Lauri. We buy used cars because that's what makes economic sense - I refuse to spend a huge sum for a new car and then have it massively depreciate in value the second I drive it off the lot.<br /><br />I try to make intelligent purchases. I buy good quality that will last. I'm not replacing a sofa or a TV every year just because there are new models available. New shoes,however...<br /><br />ElspethElspeth Futcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10330102545384369360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-83870660732277245182009-10-06T14:03:49.992+02:002009-10-06T14:03:49.992+02:00I feel much the same way you do about repairing th...I feel much the same way you do about repairing things and not replacing things just for the sake of having something new and "improved" unless it really is and you need the "improved" which usually is not the case.<br /><br />As I have moved a lot from country to country, what I have enjoyed is giving lots of household stuff away to people who need it or can use it and are happy to have it and then I go buy new stuff next time around (towels, sheets, pots and pans and so on.) My stuff always finds a good home and we save on shipping costs, which are considerable when you consider that they pack a tea cup in ten pounds of paper and stuff three of them in one heavy card board box of 1 meter squared (over 9 feet squared.) I'm saving entire forests being cut down.<br /><br />Having said that, I have worked for years on ancient computers and cell phones because they worked perfectly fine for me yet were discarded elsewhere to be replaced by more sophisticated equipment.<br /><br />Unfortunately we have found that many things that malfunction or break cannot be repaire anymore because they're not made to be repaired. And even sometimes if they can be repaired, the cost is higher than the price of a new item. Say coffee pots, irons, that sort of thing.<br /><br />In the US getting racks made for your oven by a welder might well cost more than an entire new stove . . . <br /><br />Miss Footloose, with a broken electrical water kettle only a year old. Boiling water in saucepan works, but is annoying and takes too long and probably wastes more electricity.Miss Footloosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15601892611652195901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-67499768123880969682009-10-06T12:22:44.996+02:002009-10-06T12:22:44.996+02:00i totally agree with you! i hate the junk culture ...i totally agree with you! i hate the junk culture - we are even leaving it in space and n the moon!!!!!!! grr - dont get me started there. <br />We met someone once who was proud to say he made refrigerator shelves with built in obsolesence so that people would have to keep replacing them!! crazy crazy world<br />I am getting much better about clutter too.....Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16060531713032236270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-52225275835402605172009-10-06T12:19:53.446+02:002009-10-06T12:19:53.446+02:00From comments both here and at FB where my blog po...From comments both here and at FB where my blog posts also appear, it looks like most of us writers are frugal lot. Is it because we are too poor to do otherwise? I hope not. I hope even if ever I get a pile of money I don't change my ways.Laurihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11112458658109887868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-11957678294600675352009-10-06T10:41:24.289+02:002009-10-06T10:41:24.289+02:00Cars die after 100k km? What a hoot! I'm prett...Cars die after 100k km? What a hoot! I'm pretty much the same about saving/repairing things. Many folks urged me to rehab my building, rip it down to studs and then build up again. I just couldn't see all that material in a landfill. Besides the 100+ year old design has excellent cross ventilation and winter and summer light variation. <br />I, too, save my writing—it's such a shame to discard brilliance! Problem is, it takes me way too long to find the brilliant scraps when I need them. It's more cost effective just to reinvent them. Besides, sometimes my scraps are out of date. I remember writing a feature about the inability of the Hubble telescope to produce crisp images from outerspace. There's a bit of writing that can't be recycled!bonitanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-27735825665592899782009-10-06T09:27:26.712+02:002009-10-06T09:27:26.712+02:00I can really relate to what you say! Apart from ou...I can really relate to what you say! Apart from our IT gadgets (being in that business) we keep just about everything until it wears out! Cars - we often only buy them after 100000 anyway!karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12694425567973843826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9052453698252224336.post-20152777352359852892009-10-06T08:03:44.291+02:002009-10-06T08:03:44.291+02:00Well written, Lauri! In a way I am like you. I nev...Well written, Lauri! In a way I am like you. I never discard an unfinished story... I let it be for a while until I am ready to face it again.<br /><br />I am sort of intrigued about the couple who thought a car stopped working after 100,000 km... That's just hilarious! What a sheltered life they must have had while growing up!Jude Dibiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11858743689152487491noreply@blogger.com