[TheForge] several questions and thoughts

[terry l. ridder]

hello;

with all the news about coal mine accidents, the renewed interest in
using coal, and the president's statement concerning ending america's
addiction to oil, i was thinking about the several things.

is coal becoming easier to obtain? i have not seen the availibility of
coal change in my area. it is still hard to find and when you do find it
it is expensive. what have others observed?

of the known metal finishes that are commonly used in blacksmithing and
metal work in general which impact the environment the least and do not
depend on either domestic or foreign oil to obtain?

given the common use of scrap metal amongst blacksmiths and the numerous
questions that have appeared over the years in theforge mailing list as
to what alloy a certain piece of scrap may or may not be. would there be
a benefit to having a reasonably priced assay lab that would be able to
determine with best acceptable practises what the composition of a piece
of scrap is?

using locally available scrap and knowing its composition would help
toward ensuring that blacksmiths and metalworker in general are not
dealing with a hazardous material and also in some small way reducing
the use of oil in the production and transportation of new metal.

how can we as blacksmiths and metalworkers become better stewards of the
resources that we generally use either as hobbyist or professionals?

by being better stewards of those resourses we can have, even if it is
extremely small in total percentage, have a beneficial impact on the
environment and the dependency of domestic and foreign oil.

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>