Waste not, want not

I like how the documentary provided historical context. Yes, we all know the history of the U.S., but we all forget that the lifestyle was very different back in the day. According to Gunder’s article, Americas waste 50 percent more than they did in the 70s, and I’m sure a much larger percent during the World Wars. So, not only are we stuffing ourselves more, but we’re wasting more. I honestly think people put less value on this likes the environment, food, the value of one dollar and other people. We have detached ourselves so much that empathy no longer moves us to take action.

Obviously, we all need to eat healthier, recycle and reuse. On the larger level, corporations need to be more socially and environmentally responsible. This is one of the reasons why I disagreed with Mackney and Sisodia earlier…They looked at the big picture instead of at the smaller responsibilities. There’s no reason why nice grocery stores shouldn’t be in low-income neighborhoods with just as good quality of food. It is appalling that grocery stores discard food so easily. If anything, they should be sold at discount, given to nonprofits or even out on a table for people to take, especially the homeless. What’s worse is that merchants and buyers buy food based on its prettiness. It should be ok that carrots are crooked.

The environment and energy consumption is a realm that needs help and support by the government. It should be affordable for people to buy environmentally friendly products. Companies and construction should inform consumers of their options and push for such products. Yes, we pay for our utilities, but is it enough money to curb our excessive usage? Should water be so cheap when people take 30 minute showers? There’s no incentive to save when it is cheap and at the flip of a switch.

I can see how we use more energy and power because we certainly have a lot more things to plug into the wall. I wasn’t surprised about most of the items on E Source’s energy-consuming and power-drawing lists, but I was surprised about the hair dryer and fish tank. These two items would not have crossed my mind. I don’t know much about power, energy and cars. But, even hybrid cars need electricity, which usually needs coal, which is a huge polluter in itself.