11 Aug
What consumer action do you think does the most damage to the environment and how could we fix it?
We have to be fair here. We as consumers do a lot of things that add to the degradation of our environment.
This could include exhausting or releasing or creating as a byproduct - pollutants, green house gasses, toxins, excessive heat, or any other harmful item or even using too much energy to perform the process, or wasting too much raw product or natural resource.
What do you think the worst thing is and how can we fix it?
Posted by ecmfw on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
(1) Having unprotected sex, which leads to the production of nasty little rug rats who eventually grow up into consumers.
To fix: reduce population growth.
(2) Living in single-family suburban homes rather than apartments. This makes mass transit impractical, and thus it is the source of all of the complaints related to motor vehicles. Further, it destroys green space and native vegitation.
To fix: A federal real estate tax to tax single-family homes out of existence.
Posted by trwillia85 on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
using plastic products and not recycling them. plastic does not decompose like natural organic products will eventually do. people keep on using it and wanting more of it so factories just keep on making it and when we’re done with it we just throw it away which just causes a build up of useless plastic material that won’t go away. it’s a vicious cycle.
Posted by Regularguy on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
I think driving cars is probably the most harmful daily activity we do. We drive for recreation; we drive when we could walk or ride bikes; we don’t car pool; we drive gas guzzlers that pump noxious fumes into the air. I think if consumers put pressure on lawmakers and car makers to speed the production and efficiency of alternative-fueled, cleaner vehicles, it would happen sooner than it is now.
Posted by engineer on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
The simplest thing to do is to drive a hybrid car. It will just about halve your CO2 output and costs nothing over the life of the car. In fact you may save a few bucks. Number two is to recycle.
Posted by Manyfeather on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
The easiest way to clean up the environment in the US: take your own re-usable bag to the grocery store when you buy something. Plastic bags are made from natural gas. Paper bags are made from trees. A re-usable bag that is made from fiber can be used over, and over, and over, and over …… and ….. no natural gas, no trees are ever used. The plants that make plastic bags and paper bags are mostly using fossil fuels. If you use a canvas, or woven fiber bag for you groceries each and every time you go to the store and encourage your friends/ family/ acquaintances to do the same …. perhaps we can save the trees and natural gas for some better use.
Posted by Arcteryx on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
Definitely vehicle emissions. I heard somewhere (sadly, don’t have a reference right now), that we emit around 70 tons of pollutants a day. That’s going to hurt the environment big time. What can we do about it? Public transportation, bikes, walking, not buying hummers so you can compensate for your small… you know.
Posted by papricka w on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
Using oil for gasoline and other uses. It is a very expensive way to pollute everything. We need to encourage our politicians to bring about other ways to fuel our cars. I know I am certainly sick of hearing how Americans are addicted to oil! We are not addicted to oil. We just have a lot of politicians in Washington, DC who have not been doing their jobs. Most Americans will be most happy to stop using oil and polluting the environment.
Posted by jane l on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
I think the number 1 thing that is done that causes the most destruction in a consumerist society is cutting down trees and green land. They absorb the carbon dioxide and give us oxygen while cooling the earth. We have too many concrete parking lots baking in the sun, it’s disgusting. Can’t we build AROUND forest? and restore what we destroy? not enough land is off limits , too much land is for sale and too much land is stolen in countries with no responsible regulation, like rain forest lands.
Posted by almicrogirl on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
We are trash generating machines! I live in a family of 7. We recycle paper products and aluminum cans, and we toss our scraps into a compost pile. But we still generate two to three kitchen sized trash bags full of garbage everyday! That’s a lot of trash, and we are just one family.
I think that the biggest impact that we, as consumers, have on our environment is the waste we generate. Disposable cups, plates, diapers, etc… are starting to take up more room than we have to dedicate to it. It doesn’t help that everything we buy is either triple wrapped or comes in a bag that’s six sizes too big for what’s in it.
To fix this I think consumers need to recycle more, and use less. It would be great if companies would start packaging their products in appropriately sized packages as well. We’ve got to stop living like there’s no end to the resources we’ve got here on Earth.
Posted by Pandak on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
The whole petroleum-based car industry is toxic, foul, and should be replaced by clean-fuel-based industry. Stop buying gas-powewred cars would be the single best thing. If that is done, it would also stop the toxic chemical industries in their tracks, which would be good for they contribute a lot to the foul air and pollution. Third would be to stop buying all packaged goods, because packages add waste and no value to products (though people think value is added and will buy just about anything in a package).
Posted by cotts on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
Greed, jealousy & egotism do more damage in one day than any man made product does in 12 months.
Posted by consultant_rom on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
Production of greenhouse gases is the worst thing.
Solutions:
(1) Let’s go to hydrogen as a fuel for cars, We have enough solar radiation to electrolyze water and establish a hydrogen based economy.
(2) Let’s eat more plant protein instead of meat. Our cattles, pigs and chicken produce huge quantities of methane and carbon dioxide and are second to cars & industry the reason of greenhouse gas production.
(3) Lets cut carbon dioxide production of oil platforms. They release huge amounts when drilling for oil as a byproduct and do not care, how many millions of tons they emit, They should be able to catch it and turn it right back into the sediments. Could be a nice subject for an international legislation by the UN, couldn’t it?
Posted by intel_knight on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
Al, is that you? What % of ticket sales do you get from that movie?
Posted by zee_prime on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
Using plastic bags and packaging instead of biodegradeable products. Especially buying bottled water in plastic bottles when there’s nothing wrong with your tap water. Here in NZ we buy bottled water from France and Italy. We sell them our bottled water too. Tap water in all 3 countries is safe to drink. It costs a fortune in fuel for shipping and oil to make the plastic bottles, which end up in landfills.
Posted by bumblebeast on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
The best thing that we could do is to stop using fossil fuel propelled vehicles all together. The second best thing to do would be to use fuel cell cars. The only problem with fuel cell cars is that car companies are not selling them yet, all that exists so far are prototypes and concept cars.
Posted by curlytisdial@sbcglobal.net on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
I believe that the goverment is very relaxed about the factorys smog because thats were they get money to run for office
Posted by william h on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
The use of fossil fuels to produce energy….To fix it we need to produce hydrogen by nuclear fission and nuclear fusion plants.
Use the hydrogen in hydrogen-fuel cell cars as developed by Honda, Nissan, Toyota, etc. These cars get up to 99 miles per kg and the cost of hydrogen is $1 per kg. (1 kg of hydrogen has the energy equivalent of 1 gallon of gasoline.)
The hydrogen can also be put into the natural gas pipelines to heat our homes.
The nuclear fusion plants can produce electricity, produce hydrogen, recycle all trash, recycle all nuclear waste, etc.
Posted by Bill on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
I would have to say that the Environmental Protection Agency has already got this covered. There are not to many things that a consumer can get away with these days. It is also rather hard to be a watchdog to prevent this from taking place. On the other hand, we could learn alot from our God and be good stewards of the world that we live in!
Posted by AMIEL on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
one of the worst things is our inanility to manage our solid waste…
we should learn to segregate our waste…not just dump them into one trash bin…
solid waste management. come up with 3-4 bins. and, to avoid confusion, use color coding scheme. here’s my suggestion: one yellow trash bin for biodegradable, black for disposables, orange for recyclables, and one brown bin for paper…
then, biodegradable materials can be made as compost for your garden. the disposables, of course, dispose of them. the recyclables, recycle, reuse them(or better yet, sell them to junk shops..making cash out of trash!). and the paper—just do something with it, like paper mache!
start in your home, in your neighborhood.
although this won’t be easy. it really isn’t easy to break old ways, the "used to" ways. it won’t resolve our garbage problem overnight…but at least, somehow, it’d help….
Posted by Adam S on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
I think the major thing that would help the environment when it comes to consuming is to think beyond the moment. Many people buy something because it’s "cheap" or a "value". The problem is that, in many cases (but not all), you are paying for something that will not last. This then puts a burden on the whole system. Everyone gets affected…the solid waste people, the water pollution people, the air pollution folks, the oil & car compaines, and so on. If we become educated as consumers and purchase products that may cost a little bit more but will last longer, be easier to dispose of or have less of an impact on our air/water, then we will help the environment in many ways.
Cloth bags were mentioned as one way. Thinking along with this, purchase your cloth bag out of organic cotton or recycled plastic rather than virgin cotton. Another alternative, if you don’t want to buy cloth bags, is to reuse your paper bags or your paper-in-a-plastic bag a few times when you go back to the supermarket.
How and what we consume causes all of the things you mentioned in your question. If we change the purchase plan, we can change the effects of the purchase.
Posted by soubassakis on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
Besides excess purchasing (products we either do not need or will never use) packaging is of great importance!
Posted by jhon_lws on 11.08.09 at 7:45 pm
I think your question is the base of sustainable development.
We decide our future when we buy a product. When I buy a law impact and Eco friendly product I’m making the sustainable future. The concept of sustainable product is that it has to respect environmental and workers. So if you mind about this concept you can find the right way.
These are my "consumer" rules to reach a sustainable future.
1- Buy Eco-friendly products -
Sustainable not only for the environment but for the workers too.
2- Buy Products that have no packaging.
Pack. Represent the 70% in weight of Urban waste.
3- Buy saving energy products.
With an Eco lamp save up to 60% of energy.
4- Find an Eco-energy provider that produce energy from renewable sources as solar, wind, fuel cell ..
5- Don’t buy stupid TyrannoSUV car
6- Be sure to turn off all your electrics when you don’t need them - the little light of monitor or transformer mean that you’re consuming energy.
7- Try to use less resources you can - less water, oil, gas, electricity…
I know that it is no easy apply all the rules all time but you can use them minding to respect the sustainable concept.