Toastie

LEGO expressing a sustainable world

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Thank you @Bartybumfor everything you said.

Electric cars are already here and they are getting cheaper and better all the time, already rivaling gasoline driven cars in the middle-class family cars category. Charger networks are also constantly getting better so, there's no reason not to choose an electric car over a gasoline driven one for most people. Only for heavy trucks and such all-electric is not yet a viable option, though lighter trucks and vans are too very much available. It's going to take a decade or two to replace current fleet of gasoline cars with electric ones, but all in all fossil fuel driven cars are a technology of time gone by.

As for the environmental impact of electric vs. gasoline cars... it depends mostly on how the electricity is produced. Where I live some 20% of the electricity is produced with fossil fuels and the rest with renewables and nuclear. With fossil fuel plants shutting down, electric cars are also getting greener with no action on the car owner part, while with gasoline car the only option is to drive less. Of course, from environmental perspective, the best option would be to not own a car at all and use only public transportation and bicycles etc. but the sad fact is that most people are not willing to give up the comfort and luxury of a car easily enough for serious and quick reduction of in total number of cars.

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Public transport isn't always an option. Where I live, I can get to work in 35 minutes by car or in 3 hours by public transport - and the latter is more expensive, not to mention that public transport workers go on strike every other week.

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23 hours ago, Toastie said:

... Overuse of resources ...

... the global economic system still depending solely on growth ...     

If you decided to share you concerns on THIS FORUM, I suppose you want to read responses that take LEGO into account.

Too much plastic produced in the world? Well, let us admit TLG is one of those who contribute to it.

Production growth? TLG is one of those companies.

People asking for new products and buying them though they do not really need them?  OK. That also us in this forum.

People wanting new instead of old (still usable) products? OK. That also us in this forum.

Etc.

So would you agree that the most natural response to your concerns (at this forum) is: Stop buying plastic products, incl. Lego. Let us use (play with) only the existing sets and pieces. Let us share them with others, e,g with our children (and next generations). Or ask TLG to introduce policy: 1 kg new Lego for 1 kg of returned old.  ... In this way we stop at least one of the closed loops you mentioned in your posts and make the world a bit more sustainable.

Are you ready? Are we ready? 

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10 minutes ago, Jonas said:

If you decided to share you concerns on THIS FORUM, I suppose you want to read responses that take LEGO into account.

Too much plastic produced in the world? Well, let us admit TLG is one of those who contribute to it.

Production growth? TLG is one of those companies.

People asking for new products and buying them though they do not really need them?  OK. That also us in this forum.

People wanting new instead of old (still usable) products? OK. That also us in this forum.

Etc.

So would you agree that the most natural response to your concerns (at this forum) is: Stop buying plastic products, incl. Lego. Let us use (play with) only the existing sets and pieces. Let us share them with others, e,g with our children (and next generations). Or ask TLG to introduce policy: 1 kg new Lego for 1 kg of returned old.  ... In this way we stop at least one of the closed loops you mentioned in your posts and make the world a bit more sustainable.

Are you ready? Are we ready? 

I think the concern from plastics is the single use plastics (disposable straws, disposable cutlery, plastic bags and so on) as they usually end up in landfill or the ocean. I don't regard Lego as being single use. 

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5 minutes ago, allanp said:

I think the concern from plastics is the single use plastics (disposable straws, disposable cutlery, plastic bags and so on) as they usually end up in landfill or the ocean. I don't regard Lego as being single use. 

Agreed, Lego is among the very best use of plastics there is, a product that is of high quality, infinitely reusable and can take a lot of use and abuse in its intended usage environment before breaking. As a kid I had Legos from my parents generation and now I have passed those bricks to my kid. Not many toys are regarded as something to be inherited over multiple generations.

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4 minutes ago, howitzer said:

Agreed, Lego is among the very best use of plastics there is, a product that is of high quality, infinitely reusable and can take a lot of use and abuse in its intended usage environment before breaking. As a kid I had Legos from my parents generation and now I have passed those bricks to my kid. Not many toys are regarded as something to be inherited over multiple generations.

Very true. Plus not many toys are turning children into the engineers that will help the planet.

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I hoped that my above response would be understood as a hyperbole.

I just wanted to pointed out that - for some people - it may seem so easy to ask for limits/bans for cars, planes, travels, some meals, power stations, plastic,  .. whatever,  except of  what they themselves like/need/use. If they want to make the entire world "sustainable", no growth would be possible.

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This topic should be moved to the “Community Forum” where other forums could also comment if they desire.

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@Jonas to be honest all I want is fossil fuel companies to start finally paying carbon taxes

On the topic of Lego again though, having mulled over it for the day, I think I would like to continue seeing more futuristic/green designs, especially for heavy construction and forestry machinery. Type "concept heavy machinery" into a Google image search and see all the cool things that could be made.

Just now, Doug72 said:

This topic should be moved to the “Community Forum” where other forums could also comment if they desire.

I dunno about that - the question was posed within the context of Technic, after all.

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2 minutes ago, Bartybum said:

On the topic of Lego again though, having mulled over it for the day, I think I would like to continue seeing more futuristic/green designs, especially for heavy construction and forestry machinery. Type "concept heavy machinery" into a Google image search and see all the cool things that could be made.

I approve this message. :thumbup: Although it would mean less use of metallic macaroni parts for exhausts. Double-edged sword or what? :look:

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Technic do have a few electric vehicles, like the volvo zeux 42081. But the majority are the regular combustion engine powered variety, which TBH is I think how it should be. Technic should represent the real world by mostly having regular powered vehicles with a few electric concept vehicles hear and there, oh and of course a flagship RC/pneumatic forklift which could be electric!

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LEGO could make Technic bicycle sets.  Plastics don't rust like the chain on my winter bike.

bikefreshsnow.jpg

 

 

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1 hour ago, dr_spock said:

LEGO could make Technic bicycle sets.  Plastics don't rust like the chain on my winter bike.

The only issue I could see would be gearing, but I’d happily accept a suspended fixed gear downhill mountain bike in the same/similar scale as previous motorcycles.

Edited by Bartybum

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Technic bicycles would be awesome. And not just regular ones, but you could have cargo bikes, recumbents, etc. TLG would only need to introduce a couple of wheels suitable for bicycles and I'm sure the community would take care of the rest.

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I dont know why LEGO didn't do a Technic bicicle yet, some chinese competitors have already done it. I've seen a mountainbike that was pretty cool.

Edited by Gray Gear

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