Paul, I didn't say there was net gain in stored carbon (or by any human activity) but still stand by my premiss. I will continue shell collecting anyway. John Timmerman Wilmington, North Carolina -------------- Original message from Paul Callomon <[log in to unmask]>: -------------- > I couldn't resist this one. Shell collecting as a way of sequestering > carbon and thus reducing global warming! Scientific illiteracy is a > major problem nowadays. > A standard container weighs between 10 and 20 tons. To crane it onto a > ship and move it from the Philippines to the USA consumes a considerable > amount of marine diesel. To then truck it to the distribution center > requires many further gallons of regular diesel. To then deliver the > packet of shells to your home takes some regular gasoline. Let's not > mention manufacturing and transporting the packing materials (the bubble > wrap, the box etc.) or the resources used by the original fishermen. > That shell you buy for your collection is dragging behind it a ton of > carbon dioxide that would have remained tied up in hydrocarbons lurking > deep underground if you hadn't placed your order in the first place. > Cheez. What do they teach people nowadays? > > Paul Callomon > > >>> John Timmerman 12/31/2007 10:51 AM >>> > Maybe a bit of a tangent, but here goes. > > Mollusk shells are calcium carbonate. > > Carbon dioxide is one of the green-house gases. > > Carbon in mollusk shells is unavailable to the environment. > > Shell collectors by the very act of amassing and preserving shells in > collections remove and prevent carbon from returning to the environment. > Thus they are helping mitigate the proliferation of one of the > byproducts of burning fossil fuels. > > Conclusion. Should not those who would outlaw the collecting of shells > dead or alive be then be seen as detractors to the health of the planet > as well? > > I fully agree with Tom and others that shell collecting inspires (me) > the very way that art does. It is a pursuit that makes our journey > through this life so much more enjoyable. > > I do propose the above line of thought to those who detract what I do > for inspiration. > > John Timmerman > Wilmington, North Carolina > > > > -------------- Original message from "Samuel S. Tuttle" > : -------------- > > This thread could undoubtedly be used by the Town Council to get votes > for local legislation to stop all shelling. You can't walk the beach > any more and pick up a specimen that is recently-dead. In some places > you can't pick it up if it's been dead for "ten million years". > > I think believing that the individual collector makes a "dent" in the > mollusk population is humorous; but deadly. Pharmaceuticals that came > from mollusks? Curiosity that began with a kid picking up a shell? > Love of nature promulgated by holding a shell in one's hand? > > Some of today's teachers border on teaching "worship the earth" without > considering the validity of the claims presented in their materials. > > Surely this group shouldn't support the demise of the pursuit of the > thing we love, should we? Stop collecting? Ban or discourage shell > clubs? Teach our children to "look, but don't touch"? > > Is your hobby/passion destroying the earth?? I don't believe it. > > Sam in Delaware > > www.streetsmartbooks.com > Home of SMALL BUSINESS PRIMER: > How to Buy, Sell & Evaluate a Business > [log in to unmask] > > > > > > iÆm is proud to present Cause Effect, a series about real people making > a difference. Learn more > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs > To leave this list, click on the following web link: > http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 > Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and > click leave the list. > ----------------------------------------------------------------------