Sunday, September 13, 2009

Eco-Guilt

An article in the City Paper I read last week told about the increasing amount of potentially harmful chemicals in the water supply. Concern over what we're consuming is growing like the Pacific garbage mass. (For reference, a picture of a nerd with a trash ball he caught. http://bit.ly/tOsWo)

Think about it, all the things we consume, be it the food we eat then poop out or the cleaners we use to wash ourselves afterwards, and the packages in which all these consumptibles are delivered have to go somewhere. When one considers the cost associated with certain products, it can make you feel pretty damn guilty.

I feel bad about the amount of waste I generate and am taking steps to make my environmental footprint smaller. (http://www.myfootprint.org/en/ Here's a calculator to show how wasteful you are.) According to my results, there would need to be 5.5 earths for everyone to sustainably live as I do. I told Christina and she replied, "We might as well kill ourselves." Apart from suicide I'm trying to take steps towards limiting the waste I create. I won't drink another bottle of water, which to me is the most over-indulgent, unnecessary frivolity of modern man. I have to drive to my crappy job, but at least I'm angry about it and my car gets decent gas mileage.
I'm trying to eat less beef because on an episode of Manswers they pointed out that only 38% of a cow is butchered for meat. Couple that with the amount of resources it takes to raise cattle and the harmful methane gas they fart into the atmosphere and I feel too guilty to enjoy the deliciousness of that wonderful animal. I also am trying to shower with less soap and I try to keep the ligts off and unplug unused appliances.

Environmentalism doesn't have to be a movement or a brand image, just a subtle change in way of life. In fact, trying to market "green" may end up having adverse affects on what could have potentially been a positive thing. So don't buy a Prius or carbon offsets if you're feeling bad, just tone down on eating cow and using plastic so much. Consumption will never lead to conservation.

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