Chinese lanterns

[saint-spoon]

On the news this evening there was a farmer calling for a ban on Chinese lanterns; they use the heat from a tea-light candle to lift a lightweight balloon into the air. He was concerned that as there is no control over where the balloon would eventually land that there could be an incidence of one of his animals eating the remnants or that they could land in a crop field causing untold damage.
It seems to me that we are becoming less and less aware of our environment when offered the chance of a throw away thrill. The same goes for the release of helium filled balloons at events; they can very well fly over the sea and when eaten by turtles will cause death.

[p.penn]

I have been at a party where several huge paper ones were released and I have to say they were spectacular and I really loved them. I did wonder about the fire risk though as they did float over a barn full of hay

I guess I didn't have my sensible health and safety hat on that evening and, although I completely understand that farmer's point of view (and he is right really), I wouldn't have wanted to miss that feeling of my heart missing a beat with emotion as they gently floated up into the night sky.

[misty]

We first saw them in India and they did look beautiful floating out to sea, but if the wind changes and they go inland they can cause untold damage. I think the idea has come back with people from their holidays.

Don't get me onto balloons. I have found them in my horses' fields and hopeful they are not silly enough to eat them. If a cow takes a large clump of grass they may not be so lucky. I have sent the tags back with my own message.

[livvylang]

I have to say I have just googled this subject and found very little about the danger of fire etc. Apparantly they can be made out out bamboo..a better product I guess without the danger. I have seen these lanterns, the fire risk is negligible..probably a lot less than letting of fireworks..the amount of fuel is calculated and if for any reason the lantern catches whilst in the air it is extinuished by itself before landing. I saw this happen at Glastonbury festival this year..one caught fire in the air and we watched..concerned it was going to land on someones tent but it was out before it landed..and it actually didn't get that high. I think the issue about animal safety is of course a very valid one..but one that I think is difficult to address. I think at the moment they are a bit of an 'in thing' in the UK and the novelty will pass. Unless we hear of fires and cattle / animals being hurt they will probably not be banned. At the moment it is asked that if they are to be let off near a coastal area that the coastguard is warned so as not to be confused with flares..a sensible request.
I think it would be sad for them to be banned..they look amazing. A ban on wire ones and the use of environmentally friendly products has to be the way forward with this. As for banning balloons..that's never going to happen..I'm not sure where this attitude about banning these types of things leads to..I hate fireworks..actually thats not true..I adore firworks but hate the state my dog gets into over them..its terrible..but I would not want a ban on them.
There will always be something out there that someone thinks should be stopped / banned..unless it poses a proven risk..it will continue!

[seahorse]

Whenever Iwalk along our beach , I take a bag with me to collect the remains of those foil type balloons and the heaps of curly ribbons that are tied to them. I hate them and what they do to marine life and always take them home to my dustbin...blasted nuisance . I also fill bags with other debris from the beach..like shells, driftwood ,glass , wellies, rubber ducks, etc, now they are more interesting my front garden now looks like the tide has just gone out

[saint-spoon]

As for banning balloons..that's never going to happen..I'm not sure where this attitude about banning these types of things leads to..I hate fireworks..actually thats not true..I adore firworks but hate the state my dog gets into over them..its terrible..but I would not want a ban on them.
There will always be something out there that someone thinks should be stopped / banned..unless it poses a proven risk..it will continue!

Have you never stopped to consider what happens to a leatherback turtle that eats a balloon thinking it's a jellyfish? Rather than it getting what it is designed to eat it gets an indigestible blockage in its throat and starves to death. They have backward pointing spines in their throat so as to prevent the jellyfish escaping and can’t therefore regurgitate the balloon. A pleasant outcome to a momentary oooooo and ahh from the crowd before they go back to quaffing ale.
Leatherbacks are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, we have laws to prohibit the discharge of any plastics at sea but we choose not to legislate against discharging plastics to sea from land.
I’m glad that you are considerate about your dog’s feeling regarding fireworks but dismayed that you show scant regard for those animals that you can’t see; out of sight out of mind. I hope that you enjoyed your festival and hope that you will look into the issue more deeply and see the damage that a balloon or lantern can cause after we’ve had our moment of oooooooing and aaahing

[Dave]

Have you never stopped to consider what happens to a leatherback turtle that eats a balloon thinking it's a jellyfish

i must admit i haven't
but i will now

i always cut the things that hold a 4pack of beer together
so that no animal can get stuck in the rings
i try do my bit
but living in a city/town
it would have never occurred to me about the lighted Chinese thing either

my problem is you cant think of everything
i have had several rows with environmentalists over the past couple of years
eg
when i had an old land rover a bloke in a small car started on me
in a car park
after measuring the length and width of both cars (i had my tools in the back)which turned out to be the same i pointed out about the carbon foot print of importing his car and how much carbon it took to make his car
the world would be better of if he had kept an old car on the road instead of buying new
all he kept going on about was how big it was
well it was taller
so when i said that he was taller than me
so that must make me a better person
going by his rules
he got the right hump
but i had to agree with him about the chelsea tractor mob
of which i was clearly not
so why have a go me in the first place

the other was with an anti fishing protester
everyone is entitled to their opinion
but this bloke turned up with a crowd of other people
who had all come in their OWN cars all had their dogs with them
this bloke was telling me how wrong it was to fish
and no animal should be put through the act of being caught
and no animal should be kept captive(what about his dog)
again his opinion i do not have a problem with that
he then started to chuck large rocks into the water
when i asked him to stop as he was stressing the fish out
even the ones i was NOT catching
after all i was only stressing the ones i WAS catching (which was not a lot)
plus he had frightened all the ducks and other birds away
so he had stressed them as well
he started to get very aggressive
it nearly ended up in a puch-up

why cant people talk to each other rather
than comming out with all guns blazing

one of my dogs is frightend of firworks as well
it is a real pain over the weekends around the 5th november
problem is across the road the local scouts have a display every year

sorry i am going off on one again

[manda]

I'm not saying we should stop having fun by any means but given the state of our planet and the whole issue regarding reducing our waste creating more "stuff" that is of no real consequence just doesn't make sense to me..Scarey rubbish

Dave I wonder what the anti - fishing protestor would prefer the person who catches food on a needs basis or the person who buys from the trawler fisherman with goodness knows how much fish 'waste' going back into the ocean?

[Dave]

one of my biggest bugs is
when an environmentalist
who has a lovely sun tan having just flown back from Spain
starts having a pop at me about my jeep
i have never been on a plane and i have never driven out of this country
so as airplanes are a major carbon polluter
his carbon foot print due to his holidays in one year alone
yet alone in his lifetime of holidays
will always be far greater than mine will ever be
yet i am the bad guy
work that one out!!

[saint-spoon]

A few years back I was into match fishing in a minor way, it got me off work every Wednesday afternoon to fish for the naval base. By default I became the team captain (no one else wanted the job) and onto the club committee. First Monday of every month we met and part of it was anti-fishing watch; unsurprisingly most of the snags were down to Pet-a. At one point they circulated a picture of a puppy dog with a hook through its lip with a message comparing this to fishing, everyone to their own ideas but these were being circulated (apparently by concerned teachers) to schoolchildren as young as five. I have been verbally attacked by protestors and started to argue back but it soon became apparent that they were brain washed into their rather skewed view of the world. Without the course fishing industry in this country there would be far less wild areas (IMO), the majority of the places I go are wildlife havens; the swims allow easy access for our larger mammals. Interestingly there isn’t a fishing organisation that is asking for reduction in otter numbers as they aren’t a problem but feral mink, released by animal rights activists, have decimated the local wildlife. At one of my fishing haunts the great crested grebes haven’t managed to raise chicks in four years and the swans are only managing to raise one cygnet every two years.

I will say that not every angler is acting responsibly, I have reported one chap to the RSPB because he was floating bread for carp in an area rich with water fowl as well as float fishing. After the first time he hooked a moorhen I had a word, the second time I reported him. He had the gall to blame the bird for eating his bait. The other problem is litter, and IMO it’s becoming more of a problem day by day, it’s more of a cultural thing than one limited to anglers.

[Babycakes]

I dont like extremists. I have found (and this is only in my personal experiance) that while they expect everyone else to alter their lives in accordance with their own views, they refuse to take any responsibility for how their actions effect others and similarly refuse to accept even the possibility that someone else not agreeing with them does not make the other person the spawn of satan.
Personally I dont "get" fishing for sport. I do a little sea fishing when I can, and I make a point of eating what I catch - otherwise I dont see the point. But if other people enjoy it, fine. They probably dont understand how much pleasure I get from making cards or doing jigsaws while watching wildlife documentaries. Each to their own - so long as it's legal

[Dave]

no doubt there is an extremist
that will complain about how many trees
have been cut down to make your jigsaw puzzles
and he will print 10,000 leaflets (all on paper)explaining all about it
and how evil you are and how wonderful he is for saving the planet

i do hope the irony has been spotted!!!

by the way who nicks the one missing piece out of all the jigsaws i have ever tried to do?
or are they all made like that

[Babycakes]

I have a portapuzzle delux jigsaw board. I keep it under my bed (away from small people, dogs and well meaning but clumsy other half) and every night I go to bed half an hour early and do a little bit. that way all of the pieces are kept tightly wrapped up - either in the box or enclosed in the board.
I am doubly evil, as I am not only supporting the cutting down of the trees, but paying the Disney Co. for doing it muahahahaha

[Dave]

I have a portapuzzle delux jigsaw board. I keep it under my bed (away from small people, dogs

but these are the sort pf places that all of the above
CAN fit under
so apart from jigsaw puzzles
what else do you have under your bed?

i have
old dvd/video players
our wedding album
an old curtain pole
some games (clue do ect)
and a set of old bamboo blinds that we used to have in the kitchen
thats whats under my bed

[Babycakes]

I have some DVDs (aforementioned nature ones), my hair straighteners and some suitcases which is where santa comes to pick up deliveries
Oh, and enough dog hair to knit a puppy