My garage has a large storage bin for all our power tools. Since they are not frequently used, we basically have piles of money just wasting away in our garage. Power tools are not there for everyday use, so wouldn't it be more efficient to have less power tools made? Making numerous tools for each household produces a large amount of CO2 in factories. Having "libraries" where these tools can be stored and rented out when needed can reduce the number of tools in circulation. If these "libraries" became common, there would be less CO2 emissions and less materials wasted. People would also save money since they would not spend as much from buying tools.

Hi Alyssa, I just recently joined one of the two tool libraries in Seattle (WA, USA) and it is really wonderful.  I completely agree with you that this saves on a lot of wasted materials and emissions, and also builds community.

I have never heard of these "power tool libraries" before, but they do seem like a great idea. Realistically Americans consume and use way too many goods when we could be sharing them instead of each household spending money on things like tools they could be sharing and renting these things out, which is cheaper and more convenient than purchasing and storing materials you many only use a few times. If we could incorporate more ideas such as these into our everyday cultures less carbon dioxide would be released during the production of abundances of materials.