"It is not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? It is not enough for you to drink of the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?" Ezekiel 34:18

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Plastic bags be gone

There is an interesting article in Newsweek on plastic consumption. Give it a read. What frightened me the most was the statistic that North Americans and Europeans are projected to use 308 pounds of plastic per year by 2015.

Now, I am realistic enough to know that we will always have plastic in I think our lives. Think of all the uses the stuff has in medical equipment, etc. I think the key is to get to amount down in our day-to-day lives (think plastic bags and wrapping). Last week, my husband and I ran to Macy's to pick up a pair of jeans for him. I stuck one of those cloth bags into my purse and when the cashier when to grab a plastic bag I quickly whipped out my more environmentally sustainable one. I use them all the time at the grocery store but I had yet to use one in a retail store. From now on I will be using the cloth bag wherever I go, be it Barnes and Noble, CVS, or Ann Taylor.

I would like to know what percentage of that soon-to-be 308 pounds of plastic per year comes from plastic bags? If we all could get away from using them, maybe we could go a long way towards beginning to lower that frightening statistic.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Extreme Couponing

Continuing on with my rant against out-of-control consumerism, I somehow found myself watching a television show on TLC by the name of Extreme Couponing. A woman from Iowa purchased 2300 items for about $57 total. (I, on the other hand, usually spend $57 on about 12 items). She spends much of her time clipping coupons and visiting coupon sites for strategies from other extreme couponers. Now this woman seems like she is salt of the Earth. She is going to donate a lot of her freebies to local charities. I hate to be a curmudgeon but do food insecure individuals really need barbecue sauce and kitty food? I am thinking not.

Extreme couponing appears to me to be a form of hording (call me Dr. Jane, Psychologist Extraordinaire). Hording is nothing more than the excessive acquisition of material possessions. And isn't the acquisition of stuff a significant source of the environmental degradation around us?

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Junk

So, I meant to get a picture for your enjoyment but I was in such a rage come Monday morning that it slipped my line as I glared at all my neighbors still tucked away in their beds. And why was I in such a rage? Well, Monday morning is trash day in my neighborhood. On opening my door I was greeted with a pile of junk on the curb so high that I think it might have qualified as small mountain. Close your eyes and visual what I am going to describe to you (all right, I know you can't close your eyes and read at the same time but you know what I mean): two computer monitors, an indoor bicycle from circa 1974, three kitchen chairs, a kid's plastic swimming pool, a purple stuffed bear, a book bag, a pair of crocs, 15 bags of garbage, and a ceramic cupid. (I was particularly disturbed by the ceramic cupid. What exactly does one do with such an object?) Now, I must also tell you that this garbage comes from approximately 7 townhouses. 7. In my heart of hearts I am hoping that one my neighbors is running a flop-house and that this is the reason for all the junk. But alas, I think the true answer is that we Americans are addicted to junk. Can't get enough of it but as soon as we do, have to get rid of it so we can make room for more of it. About half of the junk was in perfect condition and could have been donated. The other half could have been recycled but because we do not see what happens to all our junk in the end, we just throw it out without another thought.

My question is this: the Earth is reaching its carrying capacity. That goes without argument. What exactly are we going to do without our ability to buy junk? Maybe paint great works of art again? Write novels that will be read generations after they have been completed? Compose a piano piece that could rival Mozart? I think one of the main reasons that modern folks have pretty much lost the ability to do these things unlike our counterparts in centuries past is that we spend too much of our time, energy, and talents buying, consuming, and then throwing away stuff. Just a thought.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Planet Earth is fed up!

The Onion has a great article titled "Planet Earth Doesn't Know How To Make It Any Clearer It Wants Everyone To Leave". All humor aside, the recent spate of tornadoes, floods, and draughts has a lot of people talking who, I suspect, don't usually concern themselves much with climate.

Hopefully we can use the tragedies in Joplin, Missouri, Massachusetts, and the Mississippi River Valley as a starting point for a national dialogue on how to get to a point where we are once again living within the bounds set by the natural world that we live in. For too long we have pushed the planet beyond its limits and the day is fast approaching (if we haven't reached that point already) when it will no longer be able to absorb the impacts of our lifestyles. And I am afraid that the recent environmental catastrophes we have witnessed will grow more frequent.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

The end of bottled water?

D.C. has announced that it is partnering with TapIt Water, a network founded in 2008 that partners with local restaurants to give people free water if they have a reusable bottle. Hopefully, this will spread around the country and prove to be a popular alternative to bottled water. Everyone should check it out!