Opinion: Consumerism The Enemy Of Conservation

So in the last year or so I've come to the conclusion that consumerism and conservation don't really go hand in hand. First lets start off with the definition of consumerism, according to Merriam-Webster, consumerism is "the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; also : a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods." To me this is the first part of the problem, while consumerism may be good for the economy it is certainly not good for the environment. The second is that excess consumerism and a healthy economy can be mutually exclusive --basically you don't need consumerism for a healthy economy. My believe is that this excerpt explains the start of our modern day consumerism in North America.

Shortly after the end of the war, retailing analyst Victor Lebow expressed the solution: "Our enormously productive economy . . . demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption . . . we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate." --Consumer culture no accident, Science Matters, David Suzuki, Mar 07, 2003

To summarize, the U.S government wanted to avoid another depression, and shifted the post war industry to manufacturing crap. Some items were of value, and continued to be produced, just like before the war. However, a trend was started where it was acceptable to create items with a shorter lifespan to reduce initial costs and allow greater consumer adoption. But this didn't necessarily reduce total cost of ownership and as we're seeing today it most certainly doesn't help the environment. Next time you buy something consider whether it's a frivolous item, if it's worth it to spend a little more to get a quality product, and what the environmental impact is. You decided what should be mass produced ever time you buy a product; buying tons of junk just asserts that consumers want to buy junk and that company's should continue to produce it. If all consumers bought quality items with long lifespans, the manufacturing industry would shift to accommodate the demand. The same holds true for goods made in an environmentally friendly way. Vote for quality goods when you make a purchase, and ensure that any purchase you make is necessary.

Cannabis: Literally Going Green

Today I would like to talk about industrial Hemp. Industrial hemp is produced from a strain of the Cannabis plant selected to produce an abundance of fiber. This fiber can be turned into an insanely large amount of products, estimated to be around 50,000. Some of the main uses of hemp are in the textile industry, food products, and many others through hemp oil. The importance of hemp is that it is a naturally resilient plant so few pesticides and no herbicides are needed to grow it. The only other chemicals needed are agricultural fertilizers to increase yield which help make hemp a commercially viable crop. I see it as the lesser of two evils. There's also evidence that shows per acre hemp can produce about 10% more fiber versus cotton or flax. Since hemp is a fairly "green" industrial fiber, it's become quite popular with the textile industry as a green fiber source. More about this in a later post though. Hemp has a few great characteristics I've learned such as an ability to purify soil contaminants, in fact it's being used to help clean nuclear waste at Chernobyl. It can also be used in crop rotations to clean up soil and kill tough weeds. The last practical use is in the production of bio-diesel which can be made from hemp oil. After all this I'd like to get everyone thinking about alternative materials that can be used in everyday products and processes. There's lots of innovation going on in this field, and a lot of companies have already made lots of true green products but unfortunately they aren't always well marketed yet so it takes a little digging to find them.

Green Technology: Bullfrog Power

Green technology has become extremely popular over the last few years. Unfortunately green power generation is impractical for most people. High cost of installation, system maintenance,  and a long payoff are the key reasons people are slow to jump on green power. However, most people don't mind paying a little extra for green power which is where Bullfrog Power comes in. The way it works is you estimate your power consumption and report it. Heres a video that explains the concept in a bit more detail. In return you get invoiced for the extra cost per kw/h for green power, in BC this works out to $.02 per kw/h. Overall this is usually less than a dollar a day. So you buy certified green energy, and offset your power usage; it requires no long term investment, and not only are you helping the environment now, but supporting the industry for power generation in the future.

Big Holidays, Getting More For Less

Today I would like to talk about one of the best ways of going green, reducing consumption. Our society has come up with this notion that we need to incessantly buy things, mostly useless things at that. Of course being the clever marketers that humans are, we've turned Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, Valentine's day, boxing day, black Friday and much more into consumer holidays. So this means the pressure is on to buy the perfect gift, the perfect gift which is marketed as something expensive that provides little to no value. So, it's up to you to impart a change.

Here's a couple easy ideas:

• For these special holidays buy a single gift that will last instead of many disposable ones.
• Take a family vacation as your holiday gift.
• Buy something practical, a bike, hiking gear, something for climbing. Remember getting active is a great alternative to staying indoors and if you respect the outdoors it's good for the environment too.
• Buy something practical for around the house, start a green-renovation, replace those leaky faucets, switch to CFL's when the old incandescents burn out, switch to green energy (more about this tomorrow).
• More importantly get back to the root of holidays, spend time with friends and family.

Documentaries: The Ugly Truth About The World

Today I would like to talk about another great source of information, Documentaries. As of late I've been enamored by documentaries and PBS type shows. They seem to be a wealth of information that is well compiled but one must remember that the producers of these documentaries have an agenda too and that everything should be taken with a grain of salt. Remember that anything that sounds to good to be true probably is, although that doesn't mean one should get paranoid about these documentaries. Most contain lots of good information that is well backed with case studies and testimonials so enjoy and keep an open mind.

A few goods ones I've seen lately:
Food Inc - A documentary about the American food production system.
Planet Earth: The Future - A documentary about the world's various ecosystems and whats happening to them as a result of human societies.
Super Size Me - A documentary about the consumption of fast food and the devastating effects it has on ones health.

Some of the ones I'd like to take a look at in the future include:
WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price - A documentary about the effects that big business has on local communities and the economy.
Earthlings - "a powerful and informative documentary about society’s treatment of animals."
Eyes of Nye - A science program starring Bill Nye but aimed at a more mature audience than Bill Nye the Science Guy, which is also still an awesome source of information.

A New Beginning

Today I started watching BBC's Planet Earth: The Future. This along with a long list of other things has gotten me really thinking about the environment and the problems the world faces today with regards to climate change, human society, animal extinction and so on. As an engineering student I have learned a great deal about the importance of engineers in todays society, but a more important lesson is how the decisions of a very small group of people can have far reaching impacts. So I've decided that I should start learning more about what I can do to affect these trends of carelessness towards the environment and for our planet's future. Also, since I'm a tech savvy person I feel a responsibility to share any information I compile on this subject to help others make informed decisions for the better. So let's lead with a little thought: "Be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi. This means to me that I should stop concerning about the inconsequential nature of myself as 1 person among roughly 6.9 billion, but rather start doing something, tell others, and get a snowball effect going. So for the grand call to action, go ahead and get informed. There are many great sources of information out there but here are a few great links to get you started.

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/

http://wwf.ca/

http://evenkermitisgreen.blogspot.com/

http://www.worldwatch.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalism

http://www.wellsphere.com/aging-senior-health-article/top-5-green-documentaries-of-2009/944863