Are we doing it wrong?
The current economy of the western world is based on the consumption of goods and services. Any product or service that is not in need on a repeatable basis is worth less than those that are.
For instance; here are some products I use everyday that are based on only consumption.
Disposable razors
Single serving coffee
Ball point pens
Pencils
Paper journals
Drink bottles and cans
The gasoline in my car that I used to get to work
Sticky notes
Notecards
Paper
Containers to hold my food from the grocery store
Tinfoil
Ziploc bags
This is a simple list of common items I use almost everyday in my home and professional life. I am sure there are more, and this does not include some longer-term consumables like cell phone upgrades, computer upgrades, and car upgrades.
Today I simply want to reflect that in our society we award consumption versus conservation. At this point, I am not saying that either one is better or worse only that we need to be aware of what we are doing.
To do something without awareness is probably one of the greater sins we could have. To blindly go through life and not take responsibility for our actions with the excuse that we were ignorant.
And here is part of the conundrum. If we build things to last thousand years, there will be no need to innovate and find better ways to do it. If we build things to last a thousand minutes, there will be no need take care of the things we have and our waste will be overwhelming.
So what do we do about it?
If we get the science right to be able to recycle 100% of our waste, then there would be no limit to our innovation.
I believe that until this happens, the Greeks had it right when they said to have moderation in all things. This also means moderation in innovation and moderation in disposability. Each of us will have to find what makes sense for us to conserve and what makes sense to waste.
Make good choices.
-Stay Savage
The current economy of the western world is based on the consumption of goods and services. Any product or service that is not in need on a repeatable basis is worth less than those that are.
For instance; here are some products I use everyday that are based on only consumption.
Disposable razors
Single serving coffee
Ball point pens
Pencils
Paper journals
Drink bottles and cans
The gasoline in my car that I used to get to work
Sticky notes
Notecards
Paper
Containers to hold my food from the grocery store
Tinfoil
Ziploc bags
This is a simple list of common items I use almost everyday in my home and professional life. I am sure there are more, and this does not include some longer-term consumables like cell phone upgrades, computer upgrades, and car upgrades.
Today I simply want to reflect that in our society we award consumption versus conservation. At this point, I am not saying that either one is better or worse only that we need to be aware of what we are doing.
To do something without awareness is probably one of the greater sins we could have. To blindly go through life and not take responsibility for our actions with the excuse that we were ignorant.
And here is part of the conundrum. If we build things to last thousand years, there will be no need to innovate and find better ways to do it. If we build things to last a thousand minutes, there will be no need take care of the things we have and our waste will be overwhelming.
So what do we do about it?
If we get the science right to be able to recycle 100% of our waste, then there would be no limit to our innovation.
I believe that until this happens, the Greeks had it right when they said to have moderation in all things. This also means moderation in innovation and moderation in disposability. Each of us will have to find what makes sense for us to conserve and what makes sense to waste.
Make good choices.
-Stay Savage
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