Waste does not make the world go round. Waste kills the world.
And yet, waste is what our global economic system is based on. Waste is killing us and the planet. When waste is the problem, thrift, frugality, and efficiency are the solutions.
My personal mission is to eliminate as much waste from my life as possible in everything I do. Less waste, and vastly less energy usage (green or otherwise).
Since the system is the problem, I participate in it as little as possible. So I grow a garden and preserve as much as I can. I stay home. I am not buying anything I don't need, which includes goods as well as services and "experiences", which can also be wasteful.
Well, if everyone did it, our system as it exists would grind to a halt. Our lifestyles would have to reset to a more reasonable level, and that would cause some discomfort. That is because waste is what fuels a consumer society. No endless production of waste, no mass consumption, no system as it currently exists.
While I don't see the end of our system as a bad thing, it's demise would surely cause extreme hardship for many people. That might be a difficult thing, but it is a necessary thing, just like surgery to remove a tumour is a difficult thing to endure.
If you have a cancer that is killing you, there is no easy way out. When people are diagnosed with cancer, they don't usually say they don't believe the doctors. Or that they don't believe in cancer. You are going to have to go through some tough times if you want to continue living, and there is no other way out.
How many people decide not to endure the hardship of overcoming a life-threatening disease, and die instead? Not many. Even if they did, they would only be affecting themselves. When we refuse to change our lives to save the planet, we affect everyone, as well as future generations.
But that is the choice we make when we continue wasteful ways. It is deciding to do nothing about species extinction, ecological collapse, climate change, and the blight of billionaires.
We have decided to refuse to believe the experts, and our own eyes. We say it isn't happening, or that if it is, it isn't bad. We are refusing treatment, and the outcome will be the same as if we had been diagnosed with a stage 4 cancer.
We can treat our ailment by eliminating the waste from our lives, and our system, and endure the hardship that will be required to see us through to a better way, and ultimately, survival.
We will have to let our current system crash, then create a more frugal, thrifty and efficient planet-friendly system. Or we can do nothing and let our inaction kill us, and destroy all hope for our children.
I want to live, and I want future generations to do the same. Therefore, I have made it my personal mission to eliminate waste from my life. There is no other magic solution that will allow us to continue to defy reality and the laws of physics.
Wasteful ways are killing the planet. There is no easy way out. It is time to tear off the band aid and start the healing. It starts with thrift and the judicious use of precious energy resources.
It ends with a completely different system that isn't a cancerous tumour on the face of Mother Nature.
“People keep asking me ‘What is the solution to the climate crisis?’. They expect me to know the answer. That is beyond absurd, as there are no ‘solutions’ within our current systems.
We need a whole new way of thinking. The political system that you [adults] have created is all about competition. You cheat when you can because all that matters is to win. That must come to an end.”
- Greta Thunberg, 16 years old
This week our focus has been on not wasting water. Our city was under mandatory water restriction. It was something I was already thinking about because of Mexico City and Venezuela, but it really brings it home when it happens to your city. Other things I try not to waste are food, money, fuel and time. The key is to thoughtfully plan your usage of each.
ReplyDeleteWater shortages are scary. No water - no life.
ReplyDeleteThe Canadian government has long held plans to do inter-basin water transfer so that our rivers can be dammed and diverted towards dry parts of the USA, and Mexico. It seems like insanity on a massive scale, but you can see that if this crazy system is to continue, water is going to be more precious than oil, and soon. Such water transfer projects are occurring around the world.
Conservation, or system change is never an option. Huge, profit-making projects are going to keep us hurtling toward the cliff of collapse until we go over the edge. Then they will pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and start the whole thing up again.
If we let them.
They have plans, but they are not "thoughtful" plans. Interbasin Water Transfer
According to US/Canada trade deals, Canadians will be powerless to stop the madness. Or will we?
Greta is an old soul and here to wake us up - bravo to her and all the young people who are SPEAKING UP!
ReplyDeleteI am heartened by this movement and hope it continues to grow; I also hope it is not too late.
I am currently working as an adjunct professor at a couple of local colleges. And I am driving all over the area to do so. It doesn't feel sustainable (and it is exploitative), so I think I will be only teaching this semester. This has prompted me to create a list of things I want from my work.
1. close to home (no travel - I can't stand planes and they are such bad news for the environment)
2. a non-toxic environment (no "sick buildings" for me!)
3. fair pay for a reasonable amount of work
4. doing something that does not contribute to the warming of our earth (bonus if it helps reduce warming!)
5. caring colleagues
6. low stress - I've had a BIG job before and it doesn't suit me - I tolerate stress less well that I used to, I think because I see how unnecessary and toxic it truly is.
I think work is an area where many of us could stand to readjust our expectations and priorities. I want enough work and salary to be comfortable and fulfilled. What would the world look like if we all stopped keeping up with one another and did work that made us whole? Many would find this a naive and utopian question, but what do we have to loose by answering it?
-Erin
Those are all excellent things to be pondering. Where we work and what we do is so important. They want us all to be desperate enough to take any kind of work just to survive. I have tried to avoid that situation as much as possible from the beginning.
DeleteI did not want to be exploited, nor did I want to do work that was harmful to people and other living things.
After I quit full time teaching, which I found way too stressful, I worked as a substitute teacher for a while. I was able to take as much work as I needed in order to meet our minimal monthly budget, then I took the rest of the time off to do as I pleased. That suited me just fine.
The buddhists call it "right livelihood" - to engage in compassionate activity and make a living in a way that does not cause harm, and is ethically positive. That is a tall order in our messed up work world.
Most of us spend the majority of our waking lives at work, so it’s important to assess how our work affects our whole being. How can work be meaningful? How can it support our practice, and be a place to deepen our awareness and kindness?
Thinking about such things can help make us whole. And as we change and progress, we will cause the world to change and progress.
Good luck in your quest - it is such an important part of life, and in finding personal and global solutions.
Excellent post, Gregg, been thinking about it nearly constantly since you put it up. Greta's analysis is spot on. And the water shortage mentions are scary...in my moments of negativity I've thought that the next world war will be over drinkable water. The quote that 99% of things we purchase no longer in use after 6 months got me looking around my house to see what it is I don't use, and unfortunately it is a lot. Some things are certainly seasonal (camping gear versus winter coats for example); some things have sentimental value (my first pair of binoculars from my father); but lots and lots is stuff we bought ourselves (or received as unasked-for gifts) that we may use now and again, or not at all. Not good. Goal is to not bring anything NEW into the house, use up with we have, re-home what we don't use. Thanks again for the reminder of how easy it is to be wasteful and how important it is not to be. - Mary
ReplyDeleteSince Linda and I moved in 2014 we have worked very hard to not bring more junk into our lives. We have been largely successful in this endeavour, and it feels great to have reached this level of minimalism. It took us many years to get here, and if we didn't move as much as we did I wonder if we would have made it.
DeleteIt is a constant battle, though, to keep stuff out. We are pretty militant about it, much to the chagrin of others who would like to give, or sell us stuff. No thank you, that doesn't really work for us.
Sounds to me like you are well on your way. Your way of thinking about it will lead you to your goals.
I jokingly tell my students I'd like to be prime minister. I wouldn't operate within a democracy. It would be a dictatorship - all the supermarkets and fast food shops would shut immediately, personal car ownership would be a thing of the past, every home would begin collecting it's own water and making humanure, every home would have a vegetable garden and chook run, compost heap and small orchard. Community gardens would spring up everywhere for city folk. There would be a living wage for everyone and bicycle lanes would become ubiquitous. So many good things we could do, I just wonder why we don't....
ReplyDeleteLike Greta, I am puzzled why this crisis is not daily news. We just had a big election here in Oz - the focus was on ridiculous distractions, such as the money spent on rebuilding a football stadium. What?? I am truly puzzled and find it hard to understand my fellow human beings.
Madeleine
I would vote for you. I like your platform.
DeleteI liked to tell my students that my classroom was my kingdom, but not to worry because I was a benevolent monarch.
I also note the many, many distractions that they are throwing at us. Everything except the important stuff. Never the important stuff, as it is "not good for business". It would be funny if it weren't so tragic.
People are strange, as The Doors said on their 1967 album "Strange Days". And in 1984 John Lennon said, "Strange days indeed, most peculiar mama".
They are even stranger today.
And could it really be true that 99% of stuff bought 6 months ago is no longer in use? How did they arrive at that figure, and surely many people on the planet are not wealthy enough to throw things away/stop using them so fast. I am looking around my kitchen and living area trying to find something I no longer use and really cannot. Surely I am not unusual?
ReplyDeleteI am not doubting that many, many millions of items go to waste each year, just trying to get my had around the 99%...
Madeleine
It does sound outrageous. I have not actually fact checked this to see how accurate it is. It does make on think, though. People have all kinds of stuff stashed in closets, and basements, garages, attics, drawers, cabinets, and off-site storage lockers.
DeleteBuy it - use it for a while - then stash it and forget about it. Then buy more, and repeat the process. That seems to be the way in Consumer Land.
If we have things we have not used for months or years we get rid of them. But there are things that we have that we might not us now, but could be useful in the future. It is a fine balance.
Gregg, I agree that the number does make you think. The thing is, if it was 50% or 20% or even 5% it is still outrageous!
DeleteI was just chatting with a mother and daughter who have built a 6 metre by 6 metre cabin with a loft bedroom - that is their home! They have a little lean-to bathroom at the side. How wonderful, and it gives one hope. They are certainly not stashing unused, wasted 'stuff' in their beautiful little home.
Madeleine
Hey, I finally bought metal straw for hubs and I. So excited to have them in my purse in a plastic bag. It is a small effort but it is an effort. Along, with refusing plastic bags at the grocer. I can wash those items when I get home I don't need them protected, thank you. Also starting to work on garden. We should be planting by next week. Keep up the fight brother!
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