Water down the drain and a guilty conscience

[mcarmo]

That is exactly why we don't have a "like" button in the forums.

Oh! Ok then!
Don't skimp on forum interactions - got it!

 

[grain elevator]

Ammonium thiosulfate is also a fertiliser. I wouldn't use water from the first rinse for plants, that can go to flushing the toilet if you're serious about conserving water. But not because of thiosulfate but because of silver, acids and sodium.

 

[Axelwik]

Hello everyone!
I apologize in advance if I am posting this in the wrong place. Also, I apologize if this is something that has been previously discussed in these forums. I did try to search for something similar but didn’t find it.
It’s been quite a while since I last did any work in my darkroom. I managed to clean things up a bit recently, and I had a few rolls of film to process, so I got to it. And I feel like so much must have changed environmentally in the world in these years that I was away from this hobby, that I found myself with a guilty conscience as I was working.
It’s not like I wasn’t aware or already worried about these issues five or six years ago, but so much has happened all around the world due to the change in weather conditions. Portugal has been no exception, with increasingly hot summers, with new records for the hottest temperatures set every year and devastating forest fires.
So, I was processing these rolls of film, washing them after the fixer and watching all that water go down the drain and I was thinking “what am I doing?”
I miss enlarging my negatives. I have a few boxes left of Fiber based paper and that is the paper I love to use for my favourite negatives. But then I start thinking about all the water it will take to properly rinse those prints and there goes my conscience again.
I feel like this is the beginning of the end.
Is there anyone else out there having the same dilemma?

Production of meat uses far, far more water than your darkroom. So if you stop eating meat you'll save far more water than you use in a darkroom. Same goes for oil production - if you stop driving your car it will save far more water.

Your darkroom is a drop in the bucket compared to other water uses. In most areas agriculture uses 70 to 80% of the water while cities use 20-30%. In addition to that, in most places water that goes down the drain is cleaned to accepable standards and is reintroduced into the system for other uses. Here in New Mexico it's cleaned and placed back into the Rio Grande where it goes downstream to Texas and Mexico.

 

[mcarmo]

Production of meat uses far, far more water than your darkroom. So if you stop eating meat you'll save far more water than you use in a darkroom. Same goes for oil production - if you stop driving your car it will save far more water.

Your darkroom is a drop in the bucket compared to other water uses. In most areas agriculture uses 70 to 80% of the water while cities use 20-30%. In addition to that, in most places water that goes down the drain is cleaned to accepable standards and is reintroduced into the system for other uses. Here in New Mexico it's cleaned and placed back into the Rio Grande where it goes downstream to Texas and Mexico.

Well, I eat a steak once a week, maybe less. I walk to work everyday and do most of my driving when on holidays which happen once or twice a year. So, following that train of thought, my eating habits or use of fossil fuel are as much of a drop in the bucket as my darkroom is when it comes to water waste. Changing them will have the same impact as any changes I can make to the way I process my films or my prints.
But I am just as interested in alternative energies and more sustainable food as I am in trying to minimize the water consumption of my hobby.

 

[Axelwik]

Well, I eat a steak once a week, maybe less. I walk to work everyday and do most of my driving when on holidays which happen once or twice a year. So, following that train of thought, my eating habits or use of fossil fuel are as much of a drop in the bucket as my darkroom is when it comes to water waste. Changing them will have the same impact as any changes I can make to the way I process my films or my prints.
But I am just as interested in alternative energies and more sustainable food as I am in trying to minimize the water consumption of my hobby.

As individuals we can only do what's reasonable in the world that we have before us. The real power to make changes lies with governmental policy. Absent intervention by givernments it's guided by profits, which can only lead to depletion of resources to the detriment of most of us. Unfortunately the people in charge have made their fortunes in the current system, and don't want to change a thing.

 

[mcarmo]

As individuals we can only do what's reasonable in the world that we have before us. The real power to make changes lies with governmental policy. Absent intervention by givernments it's guided by profits, which can only lead to depletion of resources to the detriment of most of us. Unfortunately the people in charge have made their fortunes in the current system, and don't want to change a thing.

Unfortunately, so very true.

 

[Axelwik]

Unfortunately, so very true.

Unregulated profits leads to "Tragedy of the Commons." A boom and bust world where the poor and middle class are affected the most.

 

[MattKing]

Moderator hat on.
Enough on the Politics please.
Moderator hat off.

 

[Rayt]

I compensate by cutting down on overall water usage for example do not shower daily. I can hold out for 4 days before my scalp begins to itch. Same with wearing underwear until crusty. I don’t turn on the lights because my iPad is illuminated unlike books. I do not eat red meat and say a prayer before making egg salad.

 

[mcarmo]

The questions that led me to my original post have indeed been answered. So, apologies for all the off topic conversation the post generated.
Thank you all.

 

[Axelwik]

Politics wasn't discussed at all.

 

[grain elevator]

Politics wasn't discussed at all.

What you wrote above, dealing with the tragedy of the commons, is at the heart of politics, one might say it is why politics exist. You may be thinking of party politics, that was indeed not brought up...

 

[Axelwik]

What you wrote above, dealing with the tragedy of the commons, is at the heart of politics, one might say it is why politics exist. You may be thinking of party politics, that was indeed not brought up...

It's an economic theory - examples of it throughout history.

 

[MattKing]

It's an economic theory - examples of it throughout history.

As well as being a foundation stone for several "political" arguments!
Please refrain - it is a thread about minimizing water use in the darkroom.

 

[Axelwik]

As well as being a foundation stone for several "political" arguments!
Please refrain - it is a thread about minimizing water use in the darkroom.

With extreme political views I suppose anything can be seen as political, including the subject of this thread.

 

[MattKing]

With extreme political views I suppose anything can be seen as political, including the subject of this thread.

If anyone wants to learn more about Tragedy of the Commons, or any other economic or political or mixed political and economic subject, there are lots of internet or print resources about them. If you are not familiar with that particular subject, I would recommend you look it up.
There are probably lots of non-photographic forums to discuss it - but please refrain from discussing it on this photographic centred site.
Personally, I believe I first encountered it in 1980 through a reprint of a 1968 article by Garret Hardin. That formed an excellent starting point for an examination of a number of legal theory and public administration subjects - excellent material for a first year law and policy course.
But photographically speaking - not really on topic.

 

[Axelwik]

If anyone wants to learn more about Tragedy of the Commons, or any other economic or political or mixed political and economic subject, there are lots of internet or print resources about them. If you are not familiar with that particular subject, I would recommend you look it up.
There are probably lots of non-photographic forums to discuss it - but please refrain from discussing it on this photographic centred site.
Personally, I believe I first encountered it in 1980 through a reprint of a 1968 article by Garret Hardin. That formed an excellent starting point for an examination of a number of legal theory and public administration subjects - excellent material for a first year law and policy course.
But photographically speaking - not really on topic.

Was excessive resource use not the very subject of this thread? Isn't "Tragedy of the Commons" the reason for any kind of conservation effort, including the reduction of water use for one's darkroom? Conservation should certainly not be political in any way!

 

[koraks]

And that's really as political as this thread is going to get! Sorry, but the diversion will end here.