Sustainable products
Sustainability simply means that the current generation (you and I) will leave future generations (our children and grandchildren) just as good, if not a better environment. This principle sounds so simple, but in real life practice it is not. The scary thing is that things are getting worse faster than most of us realize. Sometimes I look around and imagine others walking blindfolded so they don’t see the damage that is being done.
A look at recent headlines from any media outlet and in Bold font (to get our attention) we see declining reefs, rising gasoline prices, fresh water shortages, prolonged drought conditions around the world, melting of polar ice caps and glaciers, collapse of fisheries due to ocean acidification and rising prices for energy, food and sea levels. Recent headlines from Yahoo and Google, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes, Nature and Scientific America, even the IPCC, and recent statements by executives at Exxon and other companies, as well as scientists, solidify that we, as a civilization, are in bad shape. terms. and increasingly worse times. And yet the habits of overproduction, unsustainable product manufacturing, eco-friendly product laundering, and the growing inability of our Congress to address the issues are alarming.
Falsely green
Critics are swayed by corporate interests, corrupt representatives, lobbyists of one sort or another, and government and business think tanks who continue to preach that all is well, that perhaps certain events are cyclical and caused by nature (until the next few elections) and that Climate change is not a cause for concern. Oceans will not rise overnight, food will be plentiful, the electrical grid is fine, GMO foods are the way of the future, topsoil erosion is not an event, overfertilization is the problem of farmers, air pollution is better than that. was and fresh water is not a problem.
Reasoning with people who are paid to say and do unsustainable activities by corporations that do not live or breathe is just a waste of time and energy. The markets that influence these entities are driven by consumer demand. The consumer is the most powerful group in today’s society and at the same time the most tacit. As long as the consumer wants to fill their homes with unsustainable products, there will be more unsustainable products from which the consumer can choose. How many big screen TVs should we really select from? What form of genetically altered food will we consume? We have difficulty discerning between the worst sustainable product and the unsustainable product of the lesser evil. Eventually we can select the lesser evil that turns out to be worse due to the green wash of the product and the company it originates from. What energy source should I choose, coal or oil? There is the option to not buy and do without, but these days we have other options that are readily available and can send the desired messages to mega corporations.
Environmentally friendly
Eco Friendly products exist and not only locally. A green product made in China is no longer green when it reaches the shores of the US or Europe. Transportation costs, energy costs, air pollution, and even labor inequalities have associated costs and all need to be included in the true cost of the so-called sustainable product. These additional and hidden costs are thrown at the public as additional pollution, deterioration of water supplies, fishing that fails, deforestation, costs of wasted energy, factors of climate change and eventually influence the political maneuvers of our representatives and companies.
Organic clothing produced in Taiwan is not environmentally friendly or sustainable because we can buy cotton clothing here in the US Bring Levi from Mexico and make clothing here with less hidden costs. Global trade is good for some items and that’s not the point here. I am not saying that all products manufactured outside our borders are not good options. What I am saying is that due to marketing pressures, trade agreements and other understandings developed by companies to benefit companies, our representatives and companies believe that almost all products that claim to be green are in fact good for the environment. environment. The truth is that the products are not good for the environment and they are certainly not sustainable.
Disorientation and reactions
An example can be given regarding our coal reserves in Montana and Colorado. They are mined at increasing rates and shipped to the West Coast to supply China’s coal-burning facilities and factories to produce energy that is used to make products that are eventually sold here. This is not ecological, but rather economically based on greed and myopia. Companies want to improve their bottom line both here and in China and are allowed to do so because they influence particular laws or grant favors to representatives in exchange for the status quo. Another case may be that of tar sands in Canada and its effect on the environment. Economic considerations include job development and community support, yet it is clear that the development of this type of fuel is extremely dangerous to the global environment. If sustainability is a consideration of the Canadian and US governments or the oil and transportation companies, then these jobs and community support would be of a different nature. Unjustified behavior should not exist with today’s technology and the perception of the damage it will ultimately cause.
I would say that sustainability is not important to our government or to the many companies that influence it and our laws. Unless we as a people get angry, nothing will change dramatically enough to make a serious change in the events to come. Protest time is over. The negotiations are coming to an end. Diplomacy seems to have failed. The moment of reaction is upon the world population. There is certainly a stir in the air and the coming storm will turn nasty.
Sustainable options
Shopping from home is becoming more essential for those who are willing to live a greener lifestyle. The Internet offers a wide variety of online stores with which to conduct ethical business. Sustainable-minded individuals and groups are actively choosing those companies and products that really make a difference in sustainable green products and sustainability issues.
Greenwashing of many products still exists and the smart shopper can see the difference. When a product is labeled “Green” and found to be untrue, the company making those claims is held accountable. What if all household cleaners that are harmful to you and the environment were returned to the manufacturer’s door? I think they would get the message. If you added the true costs of burning coal, such as those associated with acid rain, water and air pollution, as well as Climate Change, you could compete in a Real Market, one that is not manipulated by companies and corrupt governments. ? I do not think they do. The consumer has a lot of power if he decides to exercise it.
Thanks
By Paul McGuinness