On 23/03/2016 17:17, John Rumm wrote:
On 23/03/2016 09:51, RJH wrote:
On 23/03/2016 03:39, Bill Wright wrote:
In the interests of the conservation of materials and energy, should not
DIY, especially the repair of goods, be a priority for the environmental
movement?

Bill

I do, but it needs working at.

One of the worst excesses of DIY has to be single household tool
proliferation. So, this sort of thing:

http://www.brighthub.com/environment...les/54244.aspx

Which is fair enough. Although you could also argue that tool hire shops
also fulfil that need.


Yes, of course. But it's more for hand tools that I'd guess you don't
see in hire shops. Things like spanners, spades, and maybe light power
tools like a hammer drill.

DIY on its own as it stands probably wastes more than it saves.

Also, skill sharing. IMHO DIY gets bodged because the DIYer doesn't have
the time/experience to get up to speed. It often takes me three or four
times to get things even remotely right, whereas some things seem more
natural. So share skills:

I thought that is what uk.d-i-y was for (when its not just a tired
audience for harry's islamaphobia)


It is - that's why I'm here, although I'm not so useful on the sharing
bit :-)

https://www.impossible.com

(don't know anything about them, but does seem to organise the principle
of skill sharing)

As do the various maker events and fixit fairs that have sprung up in
recent years.


Ah OK, hadn't heard of them.

And then there's the issue of putting trades people out of work.

DIY is unlikely to put any trades out of work - as the general practical
abilities and time availabilities in the general population fall.


Jeremy Hardy used to do a standup routine, lamenting the flat pack,
putting furniture makers out of business. A certain logic I suppose, but
thinking it through is pretty convoluted. And taken to extremes we
shouldn't be doing a lot of things for fear of putting people out of a
job - cooking our own food, going to the shops, whatever.

There's a point in there somewhere. Not quite sure what it is.

--
Cheers, Rob