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Not only is manufacturing goods using a 3D printer far cheaper than purchasing items, new research appearing in a recent edition of the Journal of Cleaner Production reveals that it can actually help preserve the environment. The 3D printing process was very expensive when Charles W. Hull of 3D Systems Corp created the first working model in 1984, and while the costs have dropped dramatically over the past 30 years, the cost of purchasing plastic filament still needs to be factored in. The new study, however, shows how old milk jugs can reduce those expenses. In their study, Michigan Technological...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Plastic shopping bags, an abundant source of litter on land and at sea, can be converted into diesel, natural gas and other useful petroleum products, researchers report. The conversion produces significantly more energy than it requires and results in transportation fuels – diesel, for example – that can be blended with existing ultra-low-sulfur diesels and biodiesels. Other products, such as natural gas, naphtha (a solvent), gasoline, waxes and lubricating oils such as engine oil and hydraulic oil also can be obtained from shopping bags. A report of the new study appears in the journal Fuel Processing Technology....

Even after the Newtown, Conn., massacre, Republican opponents of reasonable firearms restrictions in Congress blocked proposals for strengthened background checks and other steps to make future gun tragedies less likely. Now the question is whether anti-gun-control extremists will allow a federal ban on the manufacture, sale, import or possession of guns that are undetectable by metal detectors and X-ray machines to expire on Dec. 9. When Congress first approved the Undetectable Firearms Act in 1988, and renewed it in 1998 and 2003, the possibility of undetectable plastic guns being taken onto planes and into government buildings where guns are prohibited...

Orca Spotted with Plastic Bag in Mouth Researchers snapped a picture of a baby killer whale in the Pacific Northwest holding a plastic bag in its mouth, just the latest example of plastic pollution in the world's oceans. Last month, scientists from the Center for Whale Research monitoring orcas in the Salish Sea say they spotted a calf playing with what at first looked like a small scrap of blubber. When the baby whale dropped the item from its mouth, they realized it was actually a plastic bag.

In what sounds like a science-fiction novel come to life, one scientist says he is close to being able to affix one person's head to another human body. Italian scientist Sergio Canavero believes he has come up with an outline to successfully complete the first human head transplant in history, which could lead to solutions for those suffering from muscular dystrophy or tetraplegics with widespread organ failure. Head transplants have been attempted since the 1950s, when Russian scientist Vladimir Demikhov experimented with dogs. Twenty years later, American neurosurgeon Robert White conducted a successful head transplant by moving the head of...

"A bill that would have phased out single-use plastic bags was rejected by the state Senate Thursday, joining several other failed bids in previous years." "Defeated three bills to place limits on hydraulic oil and gas drilling, known as “fracking.” One bill would put a temporary moratorium on new drilling until more impact studies are completed. Another would impose safeguards to protect groundwater supplies."

This Young Lady is holding a rifle made with a Cavalry Arms LowerThe AR for Plastic Brick LoversThe article below is from the feinsteinproject. I just added the picture and title. You're going wait, wait, wait. Even if you WANT to build a gun out of plastic blocks, a gun made out of plastic is just a toy. Even that 3-D printed single shot is just a single shot toy. Ah. Let's talk about the AR-15, designed by Eugene Stoner in 1958. In the conventional fashion, he attached the barrel to a metal receiver that the bolt slides back...

The future just got a lot scarier. A Texas company is set to release blueprints for making a plastic gun with a 3-D printer — a development Sen. Chuck Schumer called “stomach-churning” Sunday. Defense Distributed, a collective of gun access advocates headed by self-described “free-market anarchist” Cody Wilson, has announced it made such an untraceable gun with the new plastic-making technology. The nonprofit Texas group intends to post blueprints for “The Liberator” (pictured) online this week. The Liberator may look like a toy, but “this gun can fire regular bullets,” Schumer said, calling for legislation outlawing the technology’s weapons potential....

The 3D-printed gun that Cody Wilson calls the "Liberator." Eight months ago, Cody Wilson set out to create the world’s first entirely 3D-printable handgun. Now he has. Early next week [the] founder of the non-profit group Defense Distributed, plans to release the 3D-printable CAD files for a gun he calls “the Liberator,” All sixteen pieces of the Liberator prototype were printed in ABS plastic, [except] a single nail that’s used as a firing pin. The gun is designed to fire standard handgun rounds, using interchangeable barrels for different calibers of ammunition. Technically, Defense Distributed’s gun has one other non-printed...

Texas State Rep. Drew Springer embraces freedom. Even for plastic bags. The Republican from Muenster recently filed "The Shopping Bag Freedom Act," a bill intended to block plastic-bag bans in Austin and other Texas cities. Such bans are designed to push customers into buying reusable bags at the checkout stand or bringing some to the store. Supporters praise the bans as a boost for the environment. Critics deride them as unwarranted government intrusion that could increase costs for consumers. "At a time of economic recession and with food prices at an all-time high, this hidden social tax on the poor...

When the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a ban on plastic bags and required businesses to charge a nickel for paper bags, city leaders believed it would be better all around. "I think we've gotten to a place where it's really going to work for the environment, businesses and the community in general," Councilman Mike O'Brien said at the time. But the bag ban is contributing to thousands of dollars in losses for at least one Seattle grocery store, and questions have been raised about the risk of food-borne illness from reusable bags that shoppers don't often wash.

Assemblyman Marc Levine announced today he will revive a proposal banning all single-use plastic bags in California grocery stores. Under the proposal, most grocery retailers could no longer provide thin plastic bags for customers starting in 2015. For 18 months, retailers could offer paper bags made of recycled materials or reusable plastic bags for customers to bag their milk, eggs and other groceries. Starting in July 2016, grocery retailers could only provide reusable plastic bags, which many stores already offer at a fee. The new proposal, Assembly Bill 158, also leaves room for stores to provide recycled paper bags at...

Guide to Personal 3D Printers 3D Systems’ Cube 3D There is an emerging new category in the gadget world. The products are called 3D printers and although still evolving, they are becoming relatively affordable and quite workable. The term and the idea of a personal 3D printer came from the work of two MIT grad students who in 1995 modified an inkjet printer to deposit layers of plastic in a process sometimes referred to as additive manufacturing. RepRap was also early on the 3D printer scene with an open source 3D printer project that helped inspire an early 3D printer...

CONCORD, Mass. (AP) — A new ban on the sales of single-serving plastic water bottles has taken effect in Concord. The ban began Tuesday and follows an April vote by Town Meeting, which made historic Concord one of the first communities in the nation to make the bottles illegal.

National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea reports that Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) has announced his intention to renew the ban on "plastic guns," set to expire next December: A test of a printed plastic lower firearm receiver has resulted in an anti-gun politician demanding renewal of a law against a gun that does not exist, Live Science reported today, citing a call by Rep. Steve Israel, D- N.Y., to renew “the federal ban on plastic guns just days after members of the ‘Wiki Weapon’ project tested a 3D-printed gun part in a live-fire test.” The "Undetectable Firearms Act" was first...

Scientists at the Wake Forest University have created a new type of light bulb that promises to be just as efficient as LED equivalents, but without any of the drawbacks. The new field-induced polymer electroluminescent bulbs — FIPEL for short — produce light when an electric current is passed through the nano-engineered plastic layers. The team says that the new type of bulbs are malleable, allowing them to take any shape like compact fluorescent lamps. They also won’t shatter like traditional bulbs, nor will they generate the same hum or flicker. The inventor of FIPEL, Dr David Carroll, believes that...

[snip] Under the ordinance, stores will be prohibited from offering customers plastic bags for carrying out purchases and will be required to charge a dime per paper bag. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the price of paper bags will go up to 25 cent each. [snip] "Most of the comments I've gotten to date are not only supportive, but they are really enthused about it," said Moura, adding that the only complaint he's heard involves the paper bag charge. County officials are hoping as many of the bans will go into effect as possible by April 22, which is Earth...

From the Property and Environment Research Center, here’s a thought-provoking little vid about why we should all think a little more deeply about the unintended consequences of even our best intentions before we push for government fiat to make them a reality. The environmental movement in particular tends to be a big fan of forcing society to comply with what they deem to be virtuous behavior via government crackdown. The EPA is constantly justifying it’s many regulations by claiming that they’re only safeguarding the public’s health and welfare — for instance, that the costs of their clean-air regulations are trumped...

What do you think: paper, plastic -- or both? Not sure. Isn't this an issue local governments should decide? Ban plastic, use paper. The environment is too important. Educate, don't legislate. Then let shoppers decide for themselves . Other (post a comment)

What do you think: paper, plastic -- or both? Not sure. Isn't this an issue local governments should decide? Ban plastic, use paper. The environment is too important. Educate, don't legislate. Then let shoppers decide for themselves . Other (post a comment)