Trashing The Planet (or at least one little corner of it)

[k0ua]

View attachment 598739

That photo explains the mentality of SO many people. My brother in law let his 1969 Chevy pickup rot down at first in the driveway and later in the back field. "I am going to restore it one day". Of course he never did. When he was offered $6000 for it at one point when it was in the driveway, he could not take that, "it was my dads, I couldn't sell it". When he died, his widow traded it off for some work a workman did in her kitchen. I am sure that $6000 would have done them a lot more good, not to mention if they had invested that money. In a word, people are stupid. I tried to tell him many times to take the offers for the old rusty truck, but the "it was my dad's" always came up. I was never built that way. Maybe something is wrong with me?

 

[cat fever]

James,

My brother has a 1968 Olds 442 that mostly needs a paint job and cleaning. It's been sitting under a leanto for 30 years and will continue to until he dies. He needs a bigger tractor bad and I keep telling him, pointing at the car. " There's your tractor right there".

 

[rekees4300]

It is my goal to leave this property a lot better and cleaner than when we found it, I wish everyone would have the same goal.

That's a worthy goal. :thumbsup: Most people feel that way, unfortunately a few inconsiderate people can ruin everything for the many. Don't worry, Mother Earth will soon be making an "adjustment" in the human population. :earth:

 

[k0ua]

James,

My brother has a 1968 Olds 442 that mostly needs a paint job and cleaning. It's been sitting under a leanto for 30 years and will continue to until he dies. He needs a bigger tractor bad and I keep telling him, pointing at the car. " There's your tractor right there".

Yes, but he can't see that. I don't know what it is about people that are just waiting to get a "roun tuit".

 

[Larry Caldwell]

That photo explains the mentality of SO many people. My brother in law let his 1969 Chevy pickup rot down at first in the driveway and later in the back field. "I am going to restore it one day". Of course he never did. When he was offered $6000 for it at one point when it was in the driveway, he could not take that, "it was my dads, I couldn't sell it". When he died, his widow traded it off for some work a workman did in her kitchen. I am sure that $6000 would have done them a lot more good, not to mention if they had invested that money. In a word, people are stupid. I tried to tell him many times to take the offers for the old rusty truck, but the "it was my dad's" always came up. I was never built that way. Maybe something is wrong with me?

I keep a bunch of my dad's stuff. It has sentimental value, but it's all in working condition. His anvil. His MIG welder. Cylinder hones, a ridge reamer, etc. He had a fully equipped farm shop, but I shared the contents with my brother-in-law, who got some of the nifty stuff like the lathe.

 

[rademamj]

I bought a 20 acre parcel of land on which a 94 year old aunt had lived for about 76 years. It's located in south Alabama in a rural area surrounded by farms and woods. People in this area were all dirt poor, including her. Most of the land had once been cultivated but over the years had been allowed to grow up in yaupon and privet bushes. There was also an abundance of what had to be some of the world's largest popcorn (Chinese tallow) trees. I was amazed at what I found when I started clearing it. There were 236 tires scattered all over the property. There were also a couple of barns and a chicken house. Inside the chicken house was a collection of glass jars. The landfill would only take them if they were broken up. I broke and hauled 3,460 pounds of broken glass to the landfill. That's a lot of jars! There was also over 11,000 pounds of scrap metal. There were also junk cars, junk lawnmowers, a pile of debris from a burned down house which had been pushed into the woods, and several piles of household trash. I've so far put over 1,200 hrs. on my tractor doing the cleanup. It's almost back to it's former glory and I hope it stay's that way for generations to come. It's such a shame that there was a time when land seemed to be such a disposable entity to so many people. I guess survival from day to day was priority one.

Wow. Amazing. I suspect your aunt was charging a fee for dumping, or perhaps the neighbors were simply dumping on her property.....and hoping that she never found out.

Shockingly, after I put locked security gates up to prevent access to my property, one morning I found a pickup truck with a trailer full of broken ceramic tiles waiting at my gate, and the driver asked me "what time does the dump open". Also, I have asked the county here in Texas to help me out with the Dumping problem....they actually put up several no dumping signs along the county road fronting my property....which indicates a $10,000 fine for dumping along the county road.

Perhaps the real message should be, to always treat your land with both care and respect, and never ever trash it.

 

[Botaskinner]

X2 on the glass.

I had to cut a foot wide, 50 foot long slot across a patio and driveway to trench for some new electrical (patio and driveway would be repoured later anyway).

Near the end of the trench, I hit a foot thick layer of broken glass, all green wine bottles with screw caps. Easy 100+ of them. No labels anymore, but I'd guess Thunderbird?

Crazy thing, it was right at the edge of what was now the driveway!

So I guess these guys would sit around drinking by their cars, then pitch the bottles into a pile. Eventually it got covered with dirt until I hit it with the trencher 50 years later..

I had to do the new electrical because I lost all power to the well and garage one day.

When I demoed the driveway, I found out why..they had buried a square D junction box with 220V conduit running in and out of it..it eventually shorted and blew the breakers.

Wine and electricity make a bad combination!

 

[Industrial Toys]

Yes people are stupid. But in these cases, I think it may be more just being naive. Many of us, will never finish most of our projects and don't realize how little time we might have left. I know people who have extremely valuable space in their garages or shops with project cars or trucks that never progress at all. It's a crying shame.

We are also going to loose weight and stop smoking starting tomorrow.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

When I was at the DEQ, we got a report of open burning, which at the time was prohibited. Upon inspection, it turns out it was a an area where a battery recycling company had been dumping its old battery cases, and somehow the utility company had set the old battery cases on fire, burning off their right of way or some such. They had paid the farmer for letting them dump their old cases in an arroyo on his pasture. We set up some air monitors, and they went off the chart for lead, hydrocarbons, etc.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Thank God, that's all done over seas now, out of sight, out of mind.