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Eco-friendly Fire


Optimize Blog - June 11, 2010 - 0 comments

We read today that the British Army is to test environmentally friendly bullets. As you pause to consider this rather incredulous statement perhaps we should clarify…..
Traditionally the typical bullet has a steel tip, lead core and copper jacket. This design has been around for a very long time. The new bullet will be lead-free with a steel core, removing the potential for lead pollution. Why should we be concerned with lead pollution from something which is designed to kill people you might ask? Well, soldiers get to practice shooting when they are not engaged fighting the various ne’er-do-wells around the globe.
This is a good thing. We don’t really want soldiers entering combat and learning to shoot ‘on the job’ so to speak….
So enter the ethical bullet – a lead-free bullet (assuming they are not made in China) which will enable soldiers to practice until their heart’s content without littering the rifle ranges with tons of poisonous heavy metals. I’m not sure that the environmentalists are ready to acknowledge this even as at least a minor victory but nevertheless, less lead is better than more lead although if you are unfortunate enough to be hit by a bullet we’re sure that the lead content is going to be the least of your worries.
To maintain the weight of the new eco-friendly bullet, it will be lengthened. This is also expected to increase its range, accuracy and stopping power. So lead-free and more accurate and more effective at carrying out it’s purpose – a veritable win-win situation. There are ongoing concerns about the effectiveness of current bullet types in certain theatres of war. Apparently the Taliban fighters are lean, wiry and don’t wear armour – so you might think that it wouldn’t take much to stop them then.
Unfortunately however, war and killing is a gruesome business and bullets are at their most lethal when they make contact and tumble doing maximum damage to the human body. Against these Taliban fighters the current bullets will sometimes pass clean through leaving the enemy to fight again, receiving non-lethal wounds. The longer length of the new bullets should exact more damage and provide greater ability to ‘terminate’ any threat.
So there you have it. Eco-friendly, lead free bullets which are much more effective at killing people – saving the planet by killing in an enviro-friendly way, a bitter irony indeed.

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