Nae Smokin'

[Peter B]

urgh gawwwd *rolling eyes smiley*

[CHS]

Ireland truly rocks. Not quite so sure about the whole plastic bag thing, sounds gd but what about all the trees that are replacing them? Besides they are loads more expensive to make.

Gd news bout smoking in sheff, apparently it along with liverpool and a couple of other cities could be taking the inititave away from the gov.

[Mrs H.]

People are always gtting the wrong end of the stick about trees(!) Trees are a renewable resource - cutting down trees is good as long as you replant - it's better than not cutting down trees because new trees do more cleaning of the environment than old ones - ie more breathing. plastic is bad - it comes from a non-renewable resource - ie fossil fuels - there is nothing in their manufacture which has any redeeming qualities.

[CHS]

Plastic bags, visual polution granted but do they otherwise seriously affect the enviroment compared to fossil fuel power stations, gas guzzlers and industrial waste? It just seems a trivial issue to be legistlating on.

[Klebe]

new trees do more cleaning of the environment than old ones

So lets all get those cute baby trees smoking our pollution while we kill off the grandparents, mums and dads. Then we can have pre-smoked logs on our barbeques at no additional cost.

[Mrs H.]

Klebe - you're obviously drunk

[rosalind]

The catch is, in Ireland if you want to go into a pub or somewhere you first have to walk through the crowd of smokers hanging outside the door
euch

Good ol' hold of the breath for 2secs gets you past that no bother at all.

And yes, most people recycle their paper bags...i think they're a great idea.

[paddy]

I know a certain someone who stocks up on bags when they cross the border, asking for an extra bag or two in a shop. I must admit I am guilty of giving him these presents every so often.

Recently it was discovered contractors who have illegally dumped up to a third of a million tonnes of rubbish from the Irish Republic in Northern Ireland. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3764950.stm lorrys were to be seen on the ferry to Scotland also, with bills of homes in Dublin found in Scottish dumps.

[Toni]

I can't really understand the point about plastic being better than paper or vice versa because in Ireland they don't give out any bags when you go food shopping unless you pay for them. The only time you get a paper bag is when you go clothes shopping. So in effect the number of trees being cut down should not be a significant factor.

[Ali]

I am blaming my supervisor for unneccessary tree loss - I'm sure he doesn't HAVE to have my essay double spaced on single sheets of paper - perhaps he should just get glasses?!

[Klebe]

Klebe - you're obviously drunk

yep, was very drunk.

[rosalind]

I know a certain someone who stocks up on bags when they cross the border, asking for an extra bag or two in a shop. I must admit I am guilty of giving him these presents every so often.

And I heard you tend to forget them when asked...
but that's another story.

[TEDDY]

gosh, i hate it when people forget to give poor southerner friends plastic bags.
Paddy, you feel guilty giving them to the poor (strangly attractive) southerner boy...... guilty schmuilty. you try putting dirty running shoes into a paper bag.
by the way paddy, i love you, you too rosalind

[Copepod]

Most residents of England, Scotland and Wales don't realise that the UK has a land border with another EU state. When I lived in Northern Ireland for 6 months in 1998, I was researching chemical incidents, and also discovered a lot about cross border trade. At the time, diesel was cheaper south of the border, heating oil cheaper to the north, not all of the inflammable liquids were being transported in large commercial tankers. Diesel cars almost always carried an extra 20 litre fuel can when heading south - and many garden sheds held more than spades. That story was highlighted by Martin Fletcher in The Times newspaper & in his book Silver Linings. Also, organophosphate sheep dips had been made illegal in the UK. Although alternatives were available, they were more expensive - and sales did not pick up after the ban, so the NI farmers must have been getting their sheep dip from south of the border. A report into congential abnormalities of babies born to mothers living near special waste sites was published then, so we had to respond to media interest - there were no special waste sites in NI, and all special waste was transported on ferries across to Liverpool / Cheshire.

[bendover]

http://www.deadmanworking.com/ho/