We are living in a masterpiece. We are living in a world
that was made to live indefinitely. An ecosystem can grow, collapse, reassemble
and renew all on its own and us has humans are ruining its adaptability.
“Nature has an intrinsic design” (Thorpe, 2007). According to Ann Thorpe’s Design Atlas of Sustainability,
human beings have single handedly caused this decline. Human designs are
causing the ecosystem and wildlife to deteriorate and are not allowing it to
recreate itself. What I don’t understand is why. Why are we allowing this
flawless creation to fail? Why would we want to live in a finite world when we
know there are things we can do to change the outcome? You may think negligence
is the answer, or maybe even ignorance. I believe that as a world, we are
simply under informed.
Our ecosystem was designed to live off of a cradle-to-cradle
principle. This biological system “has nourished a planet of thriving, diverse
abundance for millions of years” (McDonough & Braungart, 2002). After
reading “Waste Equals Food” from the book Cradle
to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, I have learned so
much about how amazing our ecosystem is. Our world was made to replenish itself
by using waste. Hence, “waste equals food.” I had always heard the phrase one
man’s trash is another man’s treasure and now I am realizing that this phrase
is in fact the key to our system. The Earth is capable of cycling and recycling
it’s own major nutrients such as carbon and hydrogen, etc. Our existence has
completely changed the world. We have molded into an industrial infrastructure
that is filled of over-populated cities. We have essentially overcrowded the
Earth. After doing all the math of dividing the amount of bioproductive land by
the number of people on Earth, there is only 1.9 hectares of biproductive space
per human. That is “not very much considering that lifestyles in the Western
world are currently estimated to require 10 hectares per person” (Thorpe,
2007). Each person is taking up 5 times the amount of space that we essentially
have. The Earth is overcrowded. With people so crowded and packed in,
sanitation has become a major problem and people are just finding other ways to
get rid of their waste. We live in such a crazy world where everything is practically
given to us on a silver platter that we are pretty much given the right to be
spoiled and lazy. Little do we know that our trash is someone’s treasure.
Back in the days of the Great Depression, people were so
scared of scarcity and were so cautious of wasting anything. They were reusing
jars, jugs and aluminum foil and they were saving small things like rubber
bands. Now “throwaway products have become the norm” (McDonough &
Braungart, 2002). Since our society’s waste problem is so out of control, we
must come up with a new solution and that is using safer materials so that way
our waste can once again become the food. There are two kinds of material flows
on the planet known as biological nutrients, which are used in the biosphere,
and technical nutrients, which are used in the technosphere. The problem is
once these two nutrients are used together they become almost unsalvageable and
become known as “monstrous hybrids” which is what fills our world today and
then is taken off to landfill as waste (McDonough & Braungart, 2002). If we
could use these nutrients properly, then after the product was used it would
eventually either break down and replenish the soil or we could separate it and
reuse them in the industry. Essentially, after the consumer was done with their
product they could throw it out in their yard and it would break down and act
as food to the soil or wildlife and then the cycle would begin again. Not that
I would want to live in place that everyone’s trash was displayed on their front
yard, but you get the point that these nutrients and materials could be serving
another purpose towards our ecosystem!
Rules and regulations are everywhere regarding what
materials to use and when to use them and even more importantly which ones not
to use. According to the “Manual for the implementation of the Global Organic
Textile Standard,” There are several materials that are prohibited for the
safety of the environment. I researched a few of them to see exactly what is
they are used for and why we shouldn’t use them as textiles. One of the
substances mentioned in the GOTS Manual was aromatic solvents. I found on the
“Kandla Energy and Chemicals Ltd.” website that these solvents are commonly
used in agrochemicals or pesticides, in paint and coatings, and in industrial
wash oil, etc. Why would we want something like this to be used in the making
of textiles that we wear, sit on, and even sleep on? I know that I wouldn’t
want anything of that sort near contact with my face or my body. I also
researched the use of chlorophenols and in the article “Use of clorophenols as
fungicides in sawmills” by Jan-Olof Levin, Ph.D., I found that they are used to kill
fungus. Once again, nothing I would want to come close to. These fungicides
were found to have many impurities and to be much more toxic than the main
product (Olof). So I agree with the GOTS Manual that these should be prohibited
and I agree with these regulations. Without any regulations, who knows what our
furniture and clothes would be made of. I think that just from the little
research we have done, we can tell that there should be many more rules and
regulations for there is no way every harmful material has been covered. So
what do we do now?
Some companies are already taking initiative!
Several companies are choosing to use natural resources and
nutrients, therefore their products will be recyclable and reusable. Many have
also created a “blacklist” which is a list of materials that they don’t use in
their products because they are proven to be harmful even though there is no
policy against it (Thorpe, 2007). The carpet industry has really taken off and
has started a policy called “product of service.” Many products now-a-days are
even created with a consumer expiration date in mind. They know that everyone
likes to get new things and therefore they make the product to only last so
long due to this every so often change. So many carpet companies have started
this idea that once the consumer is done with their carpet and want to exchange
for new, the company will come and pick up their old carpet and replace with
the new. Then the company is taking the old carpet (preventing waste) and
recycling it for reuse (McDonough & Braungart, 2002). Genius. Therefore, we
as consumers are essentially “renting” their products for service and can renew
it whenever we so please. Some interior design organizations are making moves
as well. Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) is also pushing the recycling
carpet and reusing it. Many companies are melting down the backing and reusing
it or coming up with the idea of carpet squares that have a permanent backing
and then the covering can be replaced whenever the consumer is looking for something
new. In 2011 in California, 385
million lbs of carpet were discarded. But “of the 385 million lbs of
carpet discards, 60 million lbs were diverted from the landfill, and 36 million
lbs were recycled” (CARE, 2011). This
statistic may seem insane, but that is a huge change compared to 2010 which consisted
of 25 million more pounds of discarded carpet. Change can happen.
Many other companies are trying to come up with ways of
recycling and reusing as well such as reclaimed wood. Many places will come and
collect old wood or brick and re-sell it to someone else for reuse and this has
become a trend. Slowly but surely we can make anything a trend.
By using the proper materials, we are using the proper
nutrients, and we can recapture the idea of our ecosystem. Our ecosystem can
adapt to change, so why can’t we? As humans, we must learn to adapt to this
change because this change is can bring our world back to life.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
You did a fantastic job on this blog! I loved the way you inserted what you had learned from the readings this past week. You pose an excellent question at the beginning and very end of your blog considering our ecosystem. It is a very good question wondering why we would every want to mess up a beautiful masterpiece such as the earth in which we live in. Do you truly think that there is too large of a population beginning to fill this world that causes the environment to be more harmful? Or do you think it's more of the fact that our life styles have been processed in the wrong direction of learning to know what waste is considered to us? I thought the carpet recycling statistic was very interesting and well researched as well. Outside findings of sustainability are always a plus and a positive encouragement of our world moving in the right direction. The last question you brought up at the end is an excellent one for anyone to get the wheels turning in their head, you stated that if our ecosystem can adapt to change, why can't we? Wonderful job on your blog!
ReplyDeleteHannah,
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting! I think that the overpopulation is not the main source of the problem because I certainly think we could turn this world around. But I do think that the overpopulation has lead this world to a more industrialized and for lack of a better word, lazy, world. I certainly agree with you about our lifestyles being pushed in the wrong direction. I don't think that people realize what they are damaging when they throw away things because that is the norm of our society today. Everyone gets caught up in just throwing away something and buying something new to replace it. Back in the old days, it certainly wasn't that easy. Also in the "Waste Equals Food" article what I thought was interesting and really eye-opening was that people used to literally dispose of their bodily waste in the yard to replenish the soil.... Disgusting. But look at what they were willing to do to keep the cycle alive!
Haha yeah that kind of sicked me out too, I don't think I'm willing to go that far just yet. But I guess there are all sorts of levels of extremists! I'm ready for another great blog next week! Last one :)
DeleteHi There Jessica!
ReplyDeleteYou have a great post this week! I love the flow and your use of several quotes from our required material and research. It makes me so sad to know that we as human kind have brought upon ourselves the problems we are facing. In the Waste Equals Food chapter the quote "Humans are the only species that takes from the soil cast quantities of nutrients needed got biological process but rarely puts them back in a usable form. Our systems are no longer designed to return nutrients in the way except on small, local levels." It just puts everything to a new perspective to me. I know that we cant help the issues involving population but maybe the practice of trash equals treasure can start to be practiced more and help with some of the issues we are facing. As you mention the rules and regulations about the GOTS manual do you know if these are mandatory? I don't think they are but I am not 100% sure on that. On another note I really enjoyed your research about some of the harmful chemicals and such! I had no clue about clorophenois or aromatic solvents and I really don't want those around me either! Which brings me back again this week to the point that if we could just inform consumers about the product their using I thing a big change would start happening! Knowing what I know now I am sure others would agree with us saying they don't want those chemicals around themselves or their loved ones! In result people wouldn't be buying products containing them and the demand for sustainable products would increase. I think it is so wonderful that companies are starting their own black lists and trying to make a difference in their own companies! I found the information you provided about the carpet companies taking their old product to recycle it in their company and replace with new to be very interesting and inspirational. It made me wonder if more companies could adopt this method how it could affect our societies. If companies would keep up with their products and communicate to consumers by calling or something when the product life is close to ending and take action like some carpet companies are if could really make an impact I think! It would make things easy on consumers too by not only reminding them that more can be done with their old product but it will create a relationship with those companies too and create returning customers for those sustainable practicing companies! All in all one mans trash really is another mans treasure!
Kaitlin,
DeleteThank you for your comment! To answer your question, I don't think that the GOTS standards are mandatory, but I'm not a 100% sure either. I kinda took it as certification like LEED and other organizations. I agree with you and think that informing ALL the consumers would be EXTREMELY difficult. But I also think that they do care and if they were informed about the chemicals that are being used on their products, the demand for sustainable products would increase. I think you make a good point when you were discussing the carpet companies and how it is a good solution because the consumers don't have to do anything in particular to make a change. I think that that is one way that we could make a huge difference and essentially gain loyal sustainability customers! We are the only species who are not returning the waste to the environment safely and I think that one small change at a time, we could maybe repair some of the damage that we have already done!
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think we as a society have allowed this destruction of nature to happen? Why is the western world so harmful and destructive to the environment? During my reading I came across some information about developing countries using almost 90% more resources than developed countries. Do you think there is a way of stopping this? Do you think that informing the world about this destruction will help alleviate the problem with humanity and nature? I agree with you Jessica, our ecosystem is amazing! However, do you think that raising awareness will change people from being so lazy? Is it possible to change people’s day-to-day actions? I agree, that recycling is the best way to alleviate all the waste in the world. What other items have you discovered could be recycled? I would like to know more about what I can do to help the environment with recycling products! Great Job, Jessica!
Haley,
DeleteThanks for your comment! You bring up great questions!! I don't think that our society has the intentions of harming our environment, but I think that our world got so industrialized that as a world, we have just gotten to the point where we live such an easy life that we don't see the damages directly. The western world lives such a rich and modern life compared to the east and I think that we are doing more damage because basically we can. They can't afford to just throw something away and buy something new when they need/want to, they have to recycle and use things until they are literally unable to be used any longer just to survive. I read that statistic too about the developing countries and I found that to be very interesting because I would assume it to be the other way around. But the developing countries NEED the basic nutrients and they need all these things to get going. We (in the west) have created so many synthetic versions of these nutrients and have become way more wasteful! I think that if the world knew the damage they were doing, they maybe would be a little more cautions of their actions but I think that we have gotten trapped in this "throwaway" lifestyle that it would a very difficult habit to break. I think that it would be possible if we almost gave them no option, and as designers only created sustainable products and created services that make it so easy for them to fall into, but I think it will take a lot of time in order to sway the consumer lifestyle. Recycling/Upcycling is a huge way to start this trend and the carpet companies are definitely the most common way to do this right now. I haven't really found anything else besides, like wood and brick. I was reading in the "Waste Equals Food" article though about how the parts in televisions and automobiles could be recycled as well. Most likely the whole thing couldn't be reused, but I'm sure there are tons of parts in electronics that just go to waste when they could be reused. But as far as textiles, I don't see why other things like curtains, and furniture couldn't be upcycled as well. I'll have to look more into that and get back to you because it really interests me as well because I think it is probably the biggest leap in the sustainable world we could make in a short amount of time!