[Charlie]

Earthfriend,

You know, you do have a good point there about the lead in the glass. Also, if i am not mistaken (Rob, Eric, Doug... back me up on this if i am right), isn't there some kind of dangerous chemical or gas inside those picture tubes? Anyway, keep this in mind the next time you smash those sets... you are breaking those tubes and releasing this bad stuff into the atmosphere, not to mention the fact that you are taking a really bad chance of flying glass causing injury to yourself. If you break a tube and it throws glass in your face, that could really f*uck up your day.

There are currently businesses and agencies trying to come up with a solution for properly disposing old CRTs. The biggest problem is cost to the person wanting to get rid of the set. They could pay as much as 20 dollars to get rid of an old set.

You can't really point the finger at something like this. I realize you are probably very envorinmentally oriented, but keep in mind that you yourself probably drive a car. Unless it is completely electric, you are causing harm to the ozone.

Also, you would drive on a road. People don't normally see this, but our roads are one of the biggest polluters. That black top road is constantly seeping oil into the ground because it is made of asphalt. Yes, it is EXTREMEMLY gradual seepage, but think of how many miles of blacktop roads cover this planet. It would be a pretty big number I'm sure. That's why it is common to see a fine sheen of oil floating on the road when it rains... especially on newly-covered roads. That's from the oil in the blacktop. Keep that in mind when you walk or drive on these nice smooth roads.

If you use electricity in your home, you are contributing to pollution. Power plants cause pollution in one way or another. Unless you have solar panels or windmills running all of the power in your home, then you are polluting!

Now days, we all try to do our part to cut down on pollution. Many of us recycle plastic or glass every week with the city garbage pick-up. We take our old oil from our cars to the station so it can be recycled instead of throwing it away. We come up with better ways of doing things and pass laws protecting the planet and the other inhabitants of it. This list could go on and on.

For old TV sets, well, look at it this way... us weirdos here on the vintage TV forum are keeping these vintage sets out of our landfills. When we get them, 9 times out of 10 they don't work. So, what do we do? We RECYCLE them. We put them back into good operating condition (and take a damn good bit of pride in it). We ARE NOT taking them out and busting picture tubes which would be releasing all of the nasty shit you say you are so concerned about into our environment!

So, before you go bad-mouthing old TVs, keep in mind that you are making our pollution problem worse by breaking that tube! That's a really DUMB thing to do! I would think that anyone concerned about the environment would have more common sense than that! Also, if you have ever thrown a TV in the trash because it was broke, then you are polluting... because it WILL end up in the landfill. Instead, take your set to a local repairman to have it fixed. Not only are you cutting back on pollution, but you are also keeping some small-time repairman in business so he can provide for his family!

If you go out and buy a BRAND-NEW TV, it too will have lead in the glass. It's likely that it's less than an old set, but it's still there! It's protecting YOU from harmful radiation. So, if you are watching TV, keep that in mind. Perhaps you need just stop watching television altogether.

Oh, more more thing... you can kiss my ass and have a Merry Christmas!

Charlie T.
Vintage Television Recycler