This post by Joel Makower fits in so nicely with all the books I've been reading lately; particularly Cradle to Cradle and also Biomimicry.
Apparently our trash that goes to landfills, or municipal solid waste, is somewhere between 1 and 10% of the total waste produced in our country - mostly industrial debris. So while we're busy worrying about how to recycle more at home or buy products with less packaging (or reinventing a Mickey D's take out bag), we may be overlooking the ridiculous amounts of damage being inflicted much earlier in the supply chain.
In fact, according to Makower, the EPA barely even keeps track of all this industrial waste.
What this demonstrates is a need to shift our focus to the production, storage, and shipping of goods. Not only is that much waste bad for our health and our environment, but it certainly isn't an efficient business model.
As a hydrologist, I know that the vast majority of people know that water comes out of their tap but have no idea where it came from before that. I bet even fewer people really know something about the industrial process that created the products they consume.
What to do? I hedge my bets here that a change in consumption practice may not be as powerful a tool as some really smart people getting in on the design end of things. Anyone want to volunteer?
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Also, this one's for Ms. S.: "West Antarctic Melt a Slow Affair" (In other words, 'collapse' may be a bit of an exaggeration.)
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