We live in a very self-centered society. I think living in the age of technology where we can pay our bills, buy clothes, order groceries, even go to school over the internet without ever being in the presence of or even speaking to another individual has contributed to this self-centered society we live in. People tend to think of themselves as individuals instead of part of a whole. They don’t see themselves as part of our society and part of humankind. Instead, they just see themselves. They forget that their actions can and do affect others. They think they can create as much garbage as they want because it’s carried off every week and not their problem anymore. They think they can do anything they want with their property because they own it. They don’t think about what the consequences are for the next generation or even just the people next door. Is it because they just don’t care or is it that society has lead them to this destiny, a destiny of “me first” and “I want it now”?
A good example of this comes to mind. In my work I recently ran across a person who needed some engineers to get him out of trouble. Let’s call him Sam. Sam owns a piece of riverfront property. Sam thought since it’s his property, he can do what he wants with it without having to check with anyone else. I definitely understand his thought process, after all, it is his property. What some people seem to forget is that they only own that piece of property, not the whole river. And what Sam did was build several things that he would not have been able to get a permit for. The problem here is that next time there is a flood, it is very likely that Sam’s neighbors will have a higher water elevation on their property due to a large amount of fill that Sam brought in to fill a low spot in his property. He also poured a large amount of concrete and completely changed the bank of the river. Sam thinks he shouldn’t have to fix anything because it’s his property. When his neighbors house floods next time a hurricane brings heavy rains, maybe he’ll see things differently.
This story, along with something I recently heard on the news about our youth being more self-centered than ever, got me thinking about some things. What are the effects of this self-centered society we live in? And how did we get here in the first place? Now I love the internet just as much as anyone out there but I think it is partly, if not mostly, to blame. As I said before, you can do almost anything now without ever dealing with another human being. I don’t think we’ve fully realized the consequences of this yet. I think it is contributing greatly to “Generation Me”.
Just a side note … I have to laugh a little as I post this on a blog for you all to read over the internet without any of us ever having a real live conversation about this.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Catching Up
Hey there! Forgive me for being so lax in getting back to this conversation. Life has just been coming faster than I can catch it as of late and we've gotten a hair sidetracked. But, here we go again!
Those statistics are staggering! And, to be honest, we're all complicit in bringing those about some way or another. To some degree, it's impossible to avoid just due to the society we live in and the standard of living we're typically used to. Yet, somewhere in there, we have to choose to do something different, to live our lives in a way that values more than the easy and instant gratification that our throw-away society offers.
I think the key here (and watch how subtly I bring the conversation back to a slightly religious nature!) is one of stewardship. The idea of being a good steward of what's been given to us is an age-old one and finds some pretty solid roots in the Bible. We are to utilize our resources, for sure, but on the same hand are to care for and preserve them as well. They are gifts and are to be respected and cherished.
We also must realize that these gifts that have been entrusted to us are not solely there for our benefit and use. Again, yes, we are to enjoy them, but even more so, we are to share them with others. And sharing them with others, particularly in this realm that we're discussing of ecological conservation, although it definately transcends more than just that, implies not only our current generation but our kid's generation and our grandchildren's generation and so on. We are blessed in order that we might be blessed. This is thinking that finds roots as far back as the biblical patriarch, Abraham. If only we'd learn how to live it out.
Those statistics are staggering! And, to be honest, we're all complicit in bringing those about some way or another. To some degree, it's impossible to avoid just due to the society we live in and the standard of living we're typically used to. Yet, somewhere in there, we have to choose to do something different, to live our lives in a way that values more than the easy and instant gratification that our throw-away society offers.
I think the key here (and watch how subtly I bring the conversation back to a slightly religious nature!) is one of stewardship. The idea of being a good steward of what's been given to us is an age-old one and finds some pretty solid roots in the Bible. We are to utilize our resources, for sure, but on the same hand are to care for and preserve them as well. They are gifts and are to be respected and cherished.
We also must realize that these gifts that have been entrusted to us are not solely there for our benefit and use. Again, yes, we are to enjoy them, but even more so, we are to share them with others. And sharing them with others, particularly in this realm that we're discussing of ecological conservation, although it definately transcends more than just that, implies not only our current generation but our kid's generation and our grandchildren's generation and so on. We are blessed in order that we might be blessed. This is thinking that finds roots as far back as the biblical patriarch, Abraham. If only we'd learn how to live it out.
Friday, February 02, 2007
A Disposable Society
Wow, great post Andy. My mind is swarming with things to touch on. It's late and it's been a rough week so I apologize in advance if I start to ramble on. These things happen. First of all let me say that I am very happy to hear of your decrease in paper plate usage. My wanna-be-hippie-tree-hugging-self hopes that those were at least truly paper plates and not the plastic or styrofoam plates that will still be sitting in the land fill when your children's children start having children. You have definitely touched on something there. We live in a society where many people "want it and want it now". We want to grab take out and then throw away the containers instead of cooking things ourselves and washing dishes. I think this came from the fast pace of our society, not laziness, but perhaps is turning to the later. It has become, for some reason unkown to me, a disposable society that we live in. I know there are other poeple out there like me (thankfully) that see all the waste we produce without blinking an eye and do their part to reduce it. However, way too many people use disposable everything and seem to think that once it's in the garbage it is gone. This really gets my goat (whatever that means). This is our planet, our dear Mother Earth, and we are trashing it. I really wish people would be more mindful about what they use and throw away. It is mind-numbing to me the things you can buy that are "disposable". Plates, cups, utensils, baking pans, cutting boards, tupperware, baby bottles, diapers, bibs, wash cloths, litter boxes, razors, cameras, .... Anything can be disposable really ... all you have to do is put it in the trash and it has been disposed of right? Wrong! It's still here, it's just not in your house anymore. And what about all of the packaging that our non-disposable items come in? It's ridiculous!
Okay, off that soap box for now, I like what you said about altering your thoughts as well as your methods. Ever since I posted the link to the compact article on my blog i've had people asking me how i'm doing with it. I find it interesting to note how many readers have mentioned how their own thought process has been affected by reading that article. Even though most people did not set out to follow the compact, reading that article has made them more aware of everything they put in their buggy when they go to the store. What a great way to have an impact on the world. It may be small but if ten people become more mindful consumers because of something I have shared then i've done a little bit to make the world a better place.
I think the song lyrics you posted really say a lot about our society. We want it all and we want it now. We live in the time of instant gratification. We don't want to work hard and save our money to buy something we want. We want something so we buy it on credit and assume yet another monthly payment that we will be strapped to for years to come. I'm reminded here of something Dave Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com) says in one of his videos. He says we want what our parents have but don't take into consideration the fact that it took them 30 years to get it. We want it and we want it now so we borrow, and borrow, and borrow some more. We, as a society, are drowning in debt. We don't care that we will be paying for something long after that something is gone, or that we will end up paying twice as much for it ... we want it now. You asked why and I wish I had a good answer for you. I think a lot of it has to do with the materialistic society we live in. We are judged by many on how big our house is, what kind of car we drive, what brand of shoes we wear, etc. It really is a sad thing. I could go on and on here but it's late and I need some sleep. I'll leave you with some statistics to ponder ...
-Over 20 billion disposable diapers are sent to landfills each year. This is enough diapers to cover a football field 3 miles deep.
-Single-use diapers represent the 3rd largest consumer item (after newspapers and beverage and food containers) in the municipal solid waste stream. These diapers will require over 500 years to decompose.
-A good eye-opening article on diapers: http://www.dy-dee.com/html/Disposable_Myth/disposable_myth.html
-Americans represent only 5 percent of the world's population, but produce over 50 percent of the world's trash.
-Packaging accounts for 10-15 percent (sometimes more than 50 percent) of the cost of a product and 50 percent of all consumer waste.
-The energy saved by recycling one aluminum can is enough to keep a 100-watt light bulb burning about 3 1/2 hours.
-For every ton of crushed glass recycled, 1.2 tons of raw materials are saved.
-Each ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees.
-A baby may use 10,000 diapers in the first three years of life. Disposable diapers take up as much as 2 percent of our landfills.
Decomposition Times:
-Aluminum cans - 100 to 500 years
-Banana peel - up to 6 months
-Cigarette filters - 15 years
-Diapers - 100 years to never
-Glass - never
-Plastic - 50 to 70 years
-Rubber - never
-Styrofoam cup - 10 to 20 years
-Tin or steel cans - 100 years
-Wax paper cup - 5 years
-Wooden stakes - 4 years
~Celena
Okay, off that soap box for now, I like what you said about altering your thoughts as well as your methods. Ever since I posted the link to the compact article on my blog i've had people asking me how i'm doing with it. I find it interesting to note how many readers have mentioned how their own thought process has been affected by reading that article. Even though most people did not set out to follow the compact, reading that article has made them more aware of everything they put in their buggy when they go to the store. What a great way to have an impact on the world. It may be small but if ten people become more mindful consumers because of something I have shared then i've done a little bit to make the world a better place.
I think the song lyrics you posted really say a lot about our society. We want it all and we want it now. We live in the time of instant gratification. We don't want to work hard and save our money to buy something we want. We want something so we buy it on credit and assume yet another monthly payment that we will be strapped to for years to come. I'm reminded here of something Dave Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com) says in one of his videos. He says we want what our parents have but don't take into consideration the fact that it took them 30 years to get it. We want it and we want it now so we borrow, and borrow, and borrow some more. We, as a society, are drowning in debt. We don't care that we will be paying for something long after that something is gone, or that we will end up paying twice as much for it ... we want it now. You asked why and I wish I had a good answer for you. I think a lot of it has to do with the materialistic society we live in. We are judged by many on how big our house is, what kind of car we drive, what brand of shoes we wear, etc. It really is a sad thing. I could go on and on here but it's late and I need some sleep. I'll leave you with some statistics to ponder ...
-Over 20 billion disposable diapers are sent to landfills each year. This is enough diapers to cover a football field 3 miles deep.
-Single-use diapers represent the 3rd largest consumer item (after newspapers and beverage and food containers) in the municipal solid waste stream. These diapers will require over 500 years to decompose.
-A good eye-opening article on diapers: http://www.dy-dee.com/html/Disposable_Myth/disposable_myth.html
-Americans represent only 5 percent of the world's population, but produce over 50 percent of the world's trash.
-Packaging accounts for 10-15 percent (sometimes more than 50 percent) of the cost of a product and 50 percent of all consumer waste.
-The energy saved by recycling one aluminum can is enough to keep a 100-watt light bulb burning about 3 1/2 hours.
-For every ton of crushed glass recycled, 1.2 tons of raw materials are saved.
-Each ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees.
-A baby may use 10,000 diapers in the first three years of life. Disposable diapers take up as much as 2 percent of our landfills.
Decomposition Times:
-Aluminum cans - 100 to 500 years
-Banana peel - up to 6 months
-Cigarette filters - 15 years
-Diapers - 100 years to never
-Glass - never
-Plastic - 50 to 70 years
-Rubber - never
-Styrofoam cup - 10 to 20 years
-Tin or steel cans - 100 years
-Wax paper cup - 5 years
-Wooden stakes - 4 years
~Celena
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