It
doesn’t seem like people are talking about sustainability anymore. Was the idea
of eliminating negative environmental impact a fad? Did it just become boring? Maybe
the word itself became to annoying and was replaced by more recently coined terms
like “ethical consumerism” and “moral purchasing”? No, I did not make either of
those terms up but they sure sound great and I wish I had. I used to think that
we would know people were serious about sustainability and the effects of
consumerism on our environment when NASCAR was banned. Yes, probably selfish for
me to single out just one form of recreational fuel consumption. With that
thinking, we may as well just eliminate both speed-boat and bicycle racing--have
you seen all the cars that follow the cyclists? Nevertheless, the elimination of
NASCAR as proof that we as consumers were finally realizing our environmental
impact was just my thinking before I started enjoying NASCAR myself. So for now
I feel ok about their fuel consumption
So,
as a new NASCAR fan, my new thinking is if we, the consumers, are truly concerned
for the environment we will eliminate all fireworks. Aren’t fireworks really
just burning money anyways? And, where does all the stuff that blows up
go? Furthermore, I have never heard of a
fireworks foundation or a ‘buy one box of fireworks and another box is donated
to some impoverished child oversees’ gimmick. Then again, I don’t really enjoy
fireworks so this too may be self-serving. Come to think of it, I don’t enjoy exercising
either, so that may top my list too. Think about all the wasted energy we
expend each and every year by people consuming calories just to hastily burn them
off on treadmills and stationary bicycles? To think what we could do with all
that captured energy. Maybe there is
something I can do to restart the conversation. I could prove I am taking
sustainability seriously when I, myself, stop buying every new iPhone and iPad
that comes out. We all know that all Apple stuff is basically crack in a
technology form. A few years ago, I recall reading in the NYTimes that over 100
million phones end up in landfills every year.
I think the article also claimed the phones are shipped oversees and then
separated into raw materials by children in India and these kids often get sick
from doing this work. Now that I think about it, yes, not changing phones all
the time seems almost a moral obligation of mine but damn those new phones are
always so cool. As a consumer, that choice out of all should be the easiest yet
it still feels like I am probably going to get the iphone7.
Isn’t
the real answer to sustaining the planet obvious: fewer people consuming less
stuff. But I do develop new products for a living, so the idea of fewer people
buying fewer new things is unpleasant and, in fact makes me a little queasy. For
obvious reasons, I want more consumers, and I want them buying all kinds of new
things, but not bamboo things. Bamboo sucks.
PLA is pretty lame too. Come to think of it, this blog has me really
thinking and it’s depressing on both the environmental and social morality
fronts. I am waiting for the return of
optimism, next post.
