Hal - Deliberately Basic

Saving the earth from the evils of human consumption and waste is not a new concept. In the seventies we were told that the earth was running out of natural resources, particularly oil. It would be just a matter of a few years and all would be gone. I didn’t believe it then and I don’t believe it now.

The concept is much the same – have we forgotten Earth Day? Earth Day was started before many of the current crop of human wasters were born. The idea of environmental issues was put forth as early as 1962 by Senator Gaylord Nelson. During the sixties there was much talk, and even a massive demonstration took place in 1969. And then, April 22, 1970 the first Earth Day was held.

Earth Day is only one of the many programs and concepts to save the earth. Going Green is the latest approach, and like many of the others, the jury is still out on whether it will go the way of so many other programs. More important, will it actually have an effect on the environment?

Now we are inundated with “Green.” I don’t believe I am alone here, when everywhere I look, is “green” and cynic that I am, I see this as just another “jump on the bandwagon” attempt to be politically correct. For most corporations going green means hauling in as much money as possible.

I am tired of being blamed for the mishaps of the world. I would love to have a car that didn’t require a second mortgage to fuel, and a cheaper way to heat my house. If you do not live in a major city, there is no public transportation, so you drive to work. Carpooling is fine, if you have a car large enough to accommodate it, and you don’t mind the hassle.

I did not make the big SUVs and cars that are inefficient, nor have I bought one. Why, in the last 30 plus years has little progress been made with fuel efficiency? What happened to all those high-milage carburetors, electric cars, and the too-many-to-remember gadgets to make driving reasonable? I don’t know, but it is easy to suspect that big oil may have something to do with the demise of fuel efficiency.

Now we come to recycling. My grandparents knew how to recycle much better than any system I see today. They lived through the Great Depression, and had to reuse things. They used every scrap of paper, every tiny can or container until it was worn out, beyond any doubt of reuse. Even my parents practiced recycling – they didn’t call it that – by using containers for purposes other than the original. For example, jelly and jams used to come in glass containers that could be then used as drinking glasses.

Now, and for the last 30 or so years, we live in a throw-away world. We have more gadgets than we need, and hardly anything is repairable. I am old enough to remember small appliance repairmen. If your toaster went on the blink, you took it in for repair. Now, you pitch it and buy a new one. Gadgets are now made so that the consumer cannot even replace a battery. The latest example I see is the Apple laptop computer, MacBook Air. Is Apple going green? Maybe the MacBook Air is more fuel efficient.

Until the corporate world stops creating markets for gadgets we don’t need, I will remain unsure of the efficacy of any program about the environment. Until big oil allows cars to become effectively fuel efficient, I have doubts about green. And if we are serious about the environment, we need to stop buying non-repairable gadgets. Personally, I’d like to see the return of the jelly glass.

NOTE: To my delight, I discovered a repair shop after this post. I hope to see the day when most consumer products can be repaired instead of tossed. Have a look at Rapid Repair for small electronic devices.

Related posts:

1. Technology – At What Point Do We No Longer Care?There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. William Shakespeare, "Hamlet"...