Author Archives: borderslynn

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About borderslynn

Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers. In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917

CO2, the Gas of Life

Posted on September 24, 2021 by borderslynn

A Scot, Joseph Black discovered Carbon Dioxide in 1755  The Discovery of Carbon Dioxide In Black’s early years at Glasgow, he probably started his work on the chemistry of “magnesia alba“. He submitted his work later for his MD thesis in Edinburgh including the discovery of what … Continue reading →

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Combustible Plastic Materials: Unsafe in Schools, Hospitals and Residential Homes

Posted on September 20, 2021 by borderslynn

72 people died in the infamous Grenfell Tower Building, situated in London, UK. The fire was due to it being ‘wrapped in plastic’. Surely this council building must be a horrible exception? No matter how low or high the building, … Continue reading →

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Another Endocrine Disruptor: Perchlorate

Posted on September 19, 2021 by borderslynn

Continuing with my previous theme of fire and toxins, and also looking at another endocrine disrupter, we find this one was invented by chemists during World War Two, as part of rocket propulsion experiments by military weapons makers. Indeed, the … Continue reading →

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Plastic Factory Fires: Killer Phthalates

Posted on September 17, 2021 by borderslynn

And one YouTube dramatic coverage of a 2013 fire at a Recycling Centre in Sheffield. It is helpful to read this article, written over twenty years ago, which describes how different plastics burn. The Firefighters who attend a plastics factory … Continue reading →

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Let’s Have “extended producer responsibility”!

Posted on September 12, 2021 by borderslynn

Renewable industry manufacturers, whether they be start-ups or high fliers, are rubbing their hands with anticipation of financial wealth beyond their wildest dreams. Governments can sell their concepts to citizens as climate change solutions, winning votes and ensuring election. What … Continue reading →

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No Landfill for Lithium, Thank you!

Posted on September 11, 2021 by borderslynn

If anything is not economic to recycle, we have always dumped it in landfill with a pretence we had no choice. All landfill activity is known to be a last resort, but landfills are growing around the globe despite that. … Continue reading →

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‘Socioeconomic Divisions have Worsened’

Posted on September 11, 2021 by borderslynn

9/11 did not change the world – it was already on the path to decades of conflict Republished on September 11th, 2021 September 10, 2021 11.47am BST Author Paul RogersProfessor of Peace Studies, University of Bradford Disclosure statement Paul Rogers is … Continue reading →

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Taking Responsibility to Do No Harm

Posted on September 8, 2021 by borderslynn

As we mine the resources we say we need to build stuff to ‘combat climate change’ we have, to date, mined irresponsibly. We have farmed irresponsibly and once we humans learned metallurgy, we began to mine irresponsibly. In fact, as … Continue reading →

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Lithium Mining expansion: Threats and Opportunities

Posted on September 4, 2021 by borderslynn

 A recent report published by the International Energy Agency states that meeting the Paris agreement’s climate targets would send demand skyrocketing for the “critical minerals” used to produce clean energy technologies. The figures are particularly dramatic for the raw materials used to … Continue reading →

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Hydrogen Sulphide and Landfill

Posted on August 19, 2021 by borderslynn

Most of us will live within a 25 mile radius of a landfill for household waste. It is often visible from roads nearby as waste trucks drive up and dump the waste and gulls fly over attracted by the chance … Continue reading →

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