Saving Old Seagulls

Well - not according to these guys:
http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/540.html

"It should be noted that human activity is not solely responsible for oil pollution in the oceans. The NRC estimates that nearly half of the oil that enters the world's oceans is the result of natural processes, including from natural seepage. Though a vast amount of oil enters the ocean from this little-understood phenomenon, it does not appear harmful; however, it does change the surrounding environment. Yet, over time, organisms living in these areas adapt and create ecosystems in which they can survive, and even thrive. Scientists continue to study this phenomenon to better understand how oil changes the way the organisms live."

Something to counter the criticism with, methinks, next time you're trailing a small film of oil.

I do!

I bought me a litre of Rock fully synthetic 2 stroke oil today for £9.99, the best bit is that it's Strawberry scented.

Honest it is.

How green is that?

I will pollute the atmosphere tomorrow with Strawberry flavoured smoke, that's got to be more eco friendly.

If it's of interest - in their 2007 report, the European Confederation of Nautical Industries (ECNI) comment that:
"Recreational boating and other water-based activities are sometimes misleadingly regarded as the prime polluting source because of their high visibility along the coast. It is frequently easier to blame the visible recreational activities rather than the unseen but far more insidious land based and commercial marine practices."

They go on to say that "Some 75% of marine pollution by oil and hydrocarbons is due to land-based activities or to natural phenomena (such as seismic activity, seepage etc). Small craft account for a mere 2% of oil pollution of the marine environment. Within that category, recreational craft only represent a small proportion as the majority of “small craft” are fishing and small passenger vessels."
They conclude, "The evidence reviewed during this study demonstrates that recreational marine engines have a minimal impact on marine water and air pollution."

From this one can reasonably conclude that pollution from recreational (leisure) craft is pretty-much insignificant in percentage terms - and yet despite this, the EU have seen fit to outlaw the sale of newly manufactured 2-stroke outboard engines by imposing strict emission limits. Legislation has also recently come into force which prohibits the discharge of oil - by any means - which could be interpreted as including non-sealed gearboxes.

Ok - so is any of this relevant to Seagull outboards ?
Well, Seagulls have developed a bad press over the years as being dirty, smelly, and polluting - but as this report (and other reports) have shown, 2-stroke outboards have an almost immeasurable effect upon the environment.

Lighten up a bit Manifold

Well, maybe Manifold is on a rant - but he ain't wrong.

As an aside: I drive a 25-year-old Peugeot 309, which still has 10 years left in it (not bad for a car built in Birmingham ... I keep wondering "what went wrong ?"), doing about 4,000 miles a year. My neighbour drives a 'low emission' car but regularly does 25-30,000 miles a year. I pay £200 a year road tax, he pays almost nothing. But which vehicle is polluting the most ? It's scare-politics, not science.

I guess what I'm saying in this thread is for us to be aware of 'legislation-creep' and have some ammunition at the ready for when the next 'squeeze' takes place ... and it will, especially here in Europe.

I also have a car now historic, a diesel Nissan Patrol 3300 tr 1989.
I do not get to travel 5000 km per year, the engine has 178000 km and starts with the first stroke in both summer and winter, and if when I do a full tank to add 10/15 litres of soybean oil or sunflower oil, is you have got it right, what is usually used for frying potato chips, my old friend does not smoke at all exhaust
the only drawback is that in the summer with the windows open seems to be in the kitchen of McDonald

So I wonder how far we take the politics of cars with low environmental impact, this is not to say that it is entirely wrong, but I am equally sure that car manufacturers are exaggerating the problem of old polluting cars.

So I will not be any problem to use my old Seagull for half an hour to any trip with my sail catamaran

I don't know why this chestnut keeps rearing its head. You have only got to look at the major oil spillages and a seagull just doesn't compare to what the large companies are doing to the environment.
I still see the 4x4's with one child in the back on the school run, so give it a rest.

You get the Greenpeace protesters running all round the world in their planes and chugging around the oceans drinking tons of diesel fuel.

Then you get the Greenies with the great ideas in alternative power, wind farms, solar panels and so on. Like does anybody want to live anywhere near them!

Energy saving light bulbs, we all have to have them to save the planet. They contain mercury and now it turns out they release carcinogenic fumes.

So lets not mention alternative fuels as we know what has happened and will no doubt keep happening in the nuclear industry.

Just go out and use your seagulls while you can and make the most of them and the greenies can stay at home in your carbon feet print and moan.

It is not going to be that far in the future when the fuel dries up.

Manifold wrote:The Peugeot factory was in Coventry on the site of Wittles first jet engine trials ....now demoslished

You're right of course - Ryton-on-Dunsmore - what I really meant to say was "NOT built in France" (despite the name).

Proper Link
http://www.aomci.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB ... 1303850583

Got to add a silly here, my Moggy Van and all the Morris minors on the road, (30,000 of them according to DVLA!), have been awarded the Dept of Environments 'Green Apple Award' for environmentaly friendlyness!

Seems the boffins have now agreed that more pollution is caused in the smelting of the Ali and the casting of the steel and iron in the construction of a vehicle, than the vehicle will ever emit, so if you can, like me, keep a 40 year old car or van going, apparently that is kinder to the environment than buying the latest hi tech electric hybrid... and changing it every 5 years for a new one!!!

As most Seagull come neatly into this category perhaps we should apply for a similar award!

I do not use bio lube in mine, bit pricey for me! But if i did I reckon it would really be a green machine!

I will just nip out now and plant a few more trees and hug a couple I planted 10 years ago!
John
SOS

I'll let Tinky (as I'm always tinkering with her) my Mk1 trannie van know that she is a green machine. Runs on LPG too!