Sunday, July 22, 2012
- There is an endless supply of natural resources (for example: petroleum) on planet Earth. It doesn't matter how fast we use them because there will always be more.
- Garbage gets transported to a far away place where it magically disappears. Poof!
- Sustainability is really just about recycling. So long as plastic bottles and scrap paper get recycled everything will be okay.
Here’s why it’s all false:
- Unfortunately, the Earth’s natural resources are not in endless supply and we do need to be mindful of how quickly we use them. It’s true that some resources are renewable (for example: wood), but even those resources need to be harvested at a sustainable rate. In other words, don’t chop down all the trees before they have a chance to grow back! Petroleum, on the other hand, takes millions of years to form; therefore, it is not considered to be a renewable resource.
- There is no such thing as putting garbage or waste ‘away’. Burn it, bury it, or take it out to sea, it will always exist in one form or another. As my grade 10 science teacher used to say: “matter cannot be created or destroyed”. That’s right, Mr. Bonnel; I was actually listening!
- Recycling is good but re-using or re-purposing is even better. But using less is still best. After all, recycling requires energy and in some cases the quality of the material being recycled is reduced in the process.
Even if we’re relatively familiar with these concepts, the sad reality is that most industries still operate according to the unsustainable ‘take-make-waste’ model. A great way to change this, however, is to start supporting companies that agree take fewer resources and make less waste. Check out this short video by Carrotmob for a fun demonstration on the power of the consumer.
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