We’re on the verge of an infrastructural shift as profound as any in human history, on the

scale of the Industrial Revolution.

You might say we’re going to be seeing the other side of that revolution, and it will change our political system, our ideologies, and our beliefs.

 

Richard Heinberg. July 2006

On the topic of Peak Oil and the ultimate breakdown of civilization due to a lack of oil to manufacture products like CD’s and DVD’s.

 

We’ve blogged about carbon emission reductions through utilization of P2P technologies to lower man’s footprint on mother earth.

 

But we haven’t really given a lot of detail. This week I came across Basecamp Earth, Ecological Footprints and a couple of the comments reminded me that I needed to revisit this theme.

 

To make CDs, you've got all those materials. All that stuff has to come from somewhere. There's a lot of plastic, there's the stuff inside...
I don't remember what the inside is made out of.
Does anybody know?

 

 

Nobody did – but we will find out (and believe me it's hard, just try to find out the components of a CD or DVD....)

 

As well as the cost to the environment of the CDs, DVD,s and the packaging; there is the cost of production.

 

Rupert Murdoch, exemplary citizen of the world has made a strong statement with his release of the Futurama Movie on DVD.

 

He is the first large publisher that has acknowledged that his output is damaging to the environment. His Supply Chain breakdown of carbon emissions shows that the making of the movie damaged the environment and News Limited acknowledged that fact and purchased carbon offsets (400 million dollars plus)  to make the DVD, carbon neutral.


Source: http://www.newscorp.com/energy/iwgy.html

 

Thank-you Rupert Murdoch. The world owes you one.......


Unfortunately, the actual DVD’s themselves, their packaging, storage and shipping has not been included in this exercise.

See Manufacture of Finished Goods…… “-“.   What does “-“ mean?

Does that mean that there are no Carbon Emissions associated with the manufacture and distribution of CD’s and DVD’s?

 

Um no – it means that part of the proect was outsourced. Reading the article a little further reveals that News Corporation is so concerned about the emission levels that they decided to write some gumpf on how energy efficient their manufacturing partners were attempting to become…..

(At least those that haven’t been moved to China to hide the real ecological damage.)

 

Reducing our energy use, switching to renewables, encouraging suppliers:

Several energy efficiency initiatives are underway at Futurama, TCFTV and TCFHE offices. These initiatives include lighting upgrades, maximization of chiller units, IT energy reductions, and other office equipment efficiencies.

The manufacturing facility for TCFHE DVDs is owned and operated by Cinram in Huntsville, AL. In recent years, Cinram has completed significant energy efficiency and waste reduction projects. Energy efficiencies include the installation of highly efficient electric injection molding technology and a highly efficient boiler, resulting in substantial electricity and natural gas savings.

With regards to waste reduction, Cinram has taken on recycling and reuse programs in its markets. All “waste” products are sorted at the Cinram facility in order to separate potential valuable elements for use by other industries and businesses within the community. As a result, Cinram has created partnerships with other companies in the area to take the “waste” for reuse in other products, resulting in the great majority (at least 98 percent) of the facility’s waste being reused rather than disposed of in landfills.

One of TCFHE’s printing suppliers completed significant energy efficiency upgrades over the past two years, resulting in reduced energy consumption by 750,000 kWh and more than 80,000 ccf of natural gas.

Future initiatives include energy audits at supplier facilities, including Cinram, printers, case manufacturers, and raw material providers.

Additionally, Futurama, TCFTV and TCFHE are seeking out new opportunities future carbon reductions and working with their partners to do the same.

 

But no actual numbers on the quantity of items shipped.


What the numbers do say is that over 80% of the cost was the manufacture and distribution of the physical medium.


 

So buying a lot of CDs would make my footprint
bigger?

 

Good point.
The important thing is to realize that the true cost of things takes into account its ecological cost.
It's not just the price you pay in the store.

 

People try to figure out ways to make things cheaper, and if  they do so at the expense of the environment, that's a cost you don't pay now, but everyone pays it later.

 



 

So we put it to the Industry – if the industry (with the exception of News Limited)  has a problem with carbon neutralization of the carbon created during the manufacture of plastic, aluminium, heavy metals, laser coated polymer dye impregnated, silver halide, nickel sulfamate, sodium hydroxide, acetone, polycarbonate, argon, laquer, zinc chloride CD's and DVD's - then we dont want too.

 

How can the content industry expect mankind to pay for it’s folly. Because that is what the current legislative moves are all about. Buy – Buy - Buy…… like there’s no tomorrow because WE (the gliterati, the elite, the leaders of big business and Governments) want our payoffs now – WE'RE too old to care about tomorrow’s environment – are you?

 

Share a file today and save at least 2 bandicoots, an owl, a platypus, two possums and a koala from being poisoned tomorrow.

 

References:

Basecamp Earth, Ecological Footprints.

http://basecampearth.org/exp2/calcost2.htm

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD_manufacturing

 

Physics of AV items and RFID – security aspects of RFID tags do not work with AV items – possibly due to the metals in CDs

http://surferblue.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/rfid-in-libraries/

When the oil runs out: Take a second look at biodegradable cellulose packaging films 

http://www.packworld.com/whitepaper-22652