Weird News story
By carpenter5
@carpenter5 (6782)
United States
August 7, 2009 11:12pm CST
I head this on the news tonight and couldn't believe it so I went and loocked up the story. According to Associated Press The people at the Bureau of Land Management in Utah's west desert are worried some folks might want to use their old sets for target practice.
With the recent switch to all digital television, there are plenty of TVs collecting dust.
The BLM warns that electronic devices like TVs, computer monitors and even cell phones potentially toxic elements. If they're not disposed of properly, the devices pose a threat to the environment.
Officials say it can cost up to seven-grand to clean-up a shot-up TV set.
So if you want to get rid of that old set..Please don't shoot it!
We didn't have to make the digital switch, as we have cable. Did you have to or did you purchase the converter from analog to digital cable.
What about our friends in other countries. Have your television stations made the switch to digital cable?
4 people like this
7 responses
@emilie2300 (1882)
• United States
8 Aug 09
Wow what a way to get rid of something. Yeah I hope they don't do that we don't need all those toxins in the environment.
I didn't have to buy a new TV or converter box I as well have cable.
But I didn't think it was right that the government went and did this everything was fine the way it was.
1 person likes this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
25 Aug 09
It's all about pressure from those that have the money! They have money and digital makes things easier on the big business people. Therefore they are the ones who get to make the decisions. The rest of us peons just have to go on with life.
@emilie2300 (1882)
• United States
26 Aug 09
Yeah know as the big wigs. Were the money is that's were all the talking and negotiating and every thing happens as they say money talks.
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
25 Aug 09
The thing is that if you have cable, it switched automatically through the cable companies. That's why we didn't have to bother with it, even though all of our televisions are older. I'm glad I didn't have to deal with buying a converter and trying to make sure it worked right.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160708)
• United States
8 Aug 09
We bought the converter boxes, and D/c ed Cable, as we do not watch TV much and the price of even basic went up 25% or more with the switch to digital. Not worth it for the time spent in front of the TV. Also, as a caution, if you throw a rock or something at an old TV it explodes and flying glass can injure the thrower (I had this happen to akid I was baby sitting, long time ago.)
1 person likes this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
25 Aug 09
A couple of months ago, some people were moving out of our apartment complex. As they were carrying a smaller television...probably a 20 inch or so, the man tripped and dropped the set. When it hit the ground, it sounded like a bomb went off. Car alarms went off and everything. Glass flew more than 20 feet and the man had several places where he had been cut by flying debris.
@dreamr802 (985)
• United States
8 Aug 09
We didn't have to switch anything because we have an up to date television and we have directv...so we were lucky when everything switched to digital. It's amazing that people will use them as target practice. I know that if you want to throw out a tv or something like that you shouldn't throw it in a dumpster, it has to go somewhere special...at least that's what I remember hearing.
1 person likes this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
25 Aug 09
In our town, we have a couple of days a year that the EPA will be at several places around town taking in old appliances and electronics that no longer work. You can also give them to trade schools who have repair classes and can use them to teach students.
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
25 Aug 09
We have cable that is included in our apartment rental. Many of the newer apartments in our area are having cable installed in all the apartments. It works out for both the apartments and the cable ompany as many will then add premium channels and internet to the service.
@ki2ng03 (12)
• United States
9 Aug 09
wow that sounds like quiet a well thought up problem i didn't but the second i read it i found i great solution to this crazy problem ha ha. why not just open a tv shooting/recycling range. its a win win all the bored folks get to shoot their tv's get rid of them and not even have to clean them up and then the land peoples wont even have to come out their caves to look for tv carcasses. but also are they not aware the the switch isnt with tv's its with the recievers all youd have to do is buy a box so if their are people out their shhoting their perfectly good tvs id advise them not to lol.
1 person likes this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
25 Aug 09
I'm thinking about all the college students who would love to have those televisions to hook up the the school's free cable services. many underpriveleged families whose kids can't afford a tv. The whole thing just seems a waste to me.
It is a fact of life now that people are just crazy.
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
8 Aug 09
Wow!! That's unbelieveable what some people will do to "get rid" of something. woudln't it be simpler just to have it hauled somewhere safe, than it would be to have ot blown all to hell for people to clean up, possibly step on injuring themselves, and defininitely harming the environment? People can be so stupid sometimes!
1 person likes this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
25 Aug 09
People don't care! If it doesn't concern their little corner of the universe, then it doesn't matter to them. I see this all the time. I am on a public university campus. We argue all the time in our classes about how wasteful our society has become. This is just another example of that wastefulness.
