January 1, 2063: We live in such a wonderful era

2062 was another happy and peaceful year. Surely this will enter the history books as a time of widespread prosperity, love and happiness for all in this world. The continuing social improvements each year have meant so much; like the recent one hour reduction in the work week to 20 hours. This has helped personally in our expansion of the blueberries section of our garden, and of course there's more time for hiking, crafting, and other interesting stress less hobbies.
 
The new World Order with a just and central government has accomplished so much.

• Dictatorships are non-existent with a new democratic model that is true to all people.
• Management of local and global affairs is completely free of the corporate influences.
• With the peace structure now in place the possibility of future wars appears remote.
• The elimination of poverty, prejudice and human injustices has been accomplished.
• Today's friendly, happy and relaxed lifestyle is so much kinder to people and planet.

What a difference life is from the days of my grandparents early in this century. Researching online news databases turns up some surprising facts about the ills of society then. So many were so consumed with doing so many of the wrong things. There was great wasting of precious days while working excessively to accumulate more possessions. It was only to buy so many useless things that polluted badly and had no true value or wholesome or natural pleasures attached to them.

What were they thinking?
Society had become too fast, too nervous and nasty. In the age of too much, they gobbled up natural resources and competed frantically with fellow creatures for more of everything. They strived so hard to acquire that next thing, always pushed on by the big free enterprise marketing machines. In their efforts, family, friends and nature were often neglected and the world's unfortunate poor were all but forgotten by most.

There were so many conveniences and automatics in their world that they barely needed to lift a finger to do anything. Yet people stressed long and frantically to acquire the money to live this way. The majority were fixed on this 'achievement' of obtaining more goods and services. It does not make any sense but it was their lifestyle, even while so many starved and millions of newborns on the other side had virtually no chance of survival beyond a few painful years.

Corporations ran the show.
Commerce had attained the power to influence government in many ways and very convincingly (and profitably) shaped citizens' habits. Business received preferences from government to the citizens' disadvantage and social displeasure continued to grow.

Commercial interests designed consumers' life styles; the clothes, cars, homes and other products they bought, and even how they should interact socially and as a family. The tool used was advertising which had increased in volume and intensity for so many years that it was virtually everywhere - on TV, telephone, internet, junk mail, buses, arenas, public buildings... Citizens were subjected to 1000's of ads each day. There were even advertisements on people's clothing which the wearers were proud to display for the manufacturer.

Great advances in medical technologies extended life spans even though they were increasingly plagued with sicknesses such as obesity, cancer and diabetes. Flashy ads for unhealthy food products received much of the blame as it extended to children through immense advertising with cute logos and fun attractions.

Real fun was disappearing.
Family time had taken on a new meaning with extra work and shopping hours. In the home there were separate TV's for parents and children and viewed in separate rooms. Healthy exposure to nature, outdoor games and exercise practically disappeared and were not included at all in many families' lives.

The production and disposal of unnecessities was devastating the environment. Consuming was the thing and there was so much to buy, much of it so flashy and so grand. Imagine owning a 6000 pound automobile and never walking several blocks to a store or riding public transit. Family homes sometimes had 10 or more huge, beautifully furnished rooms that took so much time to maintain, and so much of life to earn the money to pay for it.

Competition to appear better than average became a social 'value' for so many, often occupying their lives and diluting values in the process. Corporate marketing encouraged this and was mean as they had set their sights on children for a life long conscription. Morally wrong, but the young would supply a continuation of profits for another generation. But product design and marketing creativity would eventually peak when lifestyles become too tiring and people wanted something better.

Ethics abandoned.
Corporations became monstrous and the competition vicious as they scrambled for sales. Moral principles were abandoned at an increasing rate as there were inadequate government restrictions or they were not enforced. In some industries the extent of marketing deception was unbelievable according to today's standards. Some very strange and disturbing ways of doing business became popular and were used across industries. Cunning and devious methods to trick consumers out of their money proliferated.

Fine print was only one popular way to hide true costs, to sell inferior products or trap buyers into regrettable contracts; "The warranty only..." "Assumes no responsibility..." "Some conditions apply..." Ads and agreements required careful study, word by word, and then you had to take your chances because it was too difficult to understand.

Deceitful ads were everywhere; it was hard to believe any of it anymore. The worst was food packaging - a serious health issue. The label's bold lettering did not indicate contents like excess saturated fat, salt, sugar, preservatives, taste enhancers, and insecticides. That was in faded, small and hard to read print.

Getting scammed by a sly marketing scheme or trapped in an agreement was no longer a big deal, it happened all the time. Almost nobody complained, because if they did the response was usually fluff, perhaps delivered by a fast talking customer relations mouthpiece. Buyers might even feel embarrassed for getting tricked again.

The credit business was big and profitable and mean. Enticements and offers were in the mailbox regularly. Gouging with excessive rates and lending to those who could not afford it trapped so many causing personal bankruptcies.

Sports were real big but suggestions were that they were made big for viewing, for advertising, for business. Pro athletes were paid many millions as average sports loving families could not afford game tickets. Companies bought season tickets to pass out as 'gifts'. Weirder yet - while dog and bird fighting were cruel and strictly against the law, arenas were packed with 25000 people who came to watch hockey players administer black eyes and teeth removal on the opponent players.

Gambling was illegal except for government as they profited from lotteries and casinos through out the country. It was done with intense advertising campaigns encouraging citizens to "GET RICH". The results included broken families, suicides and profit in the name of the taxpayer. But they did caution; "Gambling can lead to financial and legal problems, loss of career and family, and other serious issues." No kidding!

The rich-poor gap in an unjust world. The inequality in revenue between the wealthiest and poorest citizens widened out of proportion. It was just too easy to acquire more when at the top and too difficult when struggling to survive at the bottom. Coverage of poverty issues was overwhelmed by reports on entertainment, sports and rich lifestyles. The globalization of trade did not always significantly improve the lives of workers in developing countries. Desperately needing income they often worked excessive hours, in difficult and unhealthy conditions, at very low pay to deliver low cost products to big enterprise for huge markups.

10 million children were dying every year of hunger and easily preventable diseases while over here millions suffered from obesity.

Natural areas of fields and forests, rivers and oceans were gradually turning into mammoth garbage deposits from the great consumption binge. So much stuff became completely obsolete in just a few years. Environmental destruction had become a popular topic as the globe got warmer, and yet junk marketing of unneeded stuff marched on, and they kept on buying. 'Free' enterprise's drive for greater sales and profits resulted in continually expanding wasteful consumption.

A big problem: Which corporations would cut back profits for the good of people and the world?

There was increasing interest in bringing more attention to these worldly ailments and to make things better. But the voices for positive change had been extremely week compared to the massively funded corporate promotions, denial campaigns and consumer marketing. Private broadcasting media kept things moving wrongly. Governments were apparently content with the bad ways of business as many wealthy politicians were benefiting in some way. The false prosperity had created a merry-go-round run amok and a degradation of true social well being.

Peace in paradise.
Then much as trends sometimes take hold and spread through a nation and then around the world, so did the desire for peace, simplicity and truer life values. People were saying; "There is a better way!" Conscience and good sense were affecting a new generation as never before as people's main interest became justice and happiness, for themselves and for all others.  

The internet was given credit as the tool used to initiate, discuss and bring about real positive change in society. The personal generosity and persistence of a relative few had spread to very many as the idea that good for others was better for you, and that simple was a most satisfying way to live.

And today we are so grateful to all those people who demanded social improvement. They should see democracy now; citizens telling the corporations what they can and cannot do, with government making it work - for the people.

Thank you for bringing us to this garden of enchantment and plenty for all.


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Our Precious Natural Environment

I have always loved nature and the outdoors, the clean fresh air, the plant and animal life. There are so many enjoyable things to do in this beautiful scenic environment and so much of it is free and waiting.

As a city kid in summer I would head out of town on many Saturday mornings on my bicycle with my school buddy. After two days of fly fishing we would return Sunday evening tired, hungry and laughing all the way back into town and home and food.

In the winter many evenings were spent skating or playing hockey on the outdoor rinks and on most weekends we were skiing. We would take the first bus out to the ski hill and the last one back. I recollect that on these return trips we were very tired and happy as everyone on the bus was singing.

These were the most memorable, healthy and fun times.

My first summer jobs were in drilling camps on remote lakes in Northern Canada searching for ore bodies. These temporary 'homesteads' consisted of tents and were accessible by float plane only. Wild life was abundant and we were reminded of it daily with squirrels always present around the cookhouse, and bears less regularly. I can hear the fish jumping at dusk and the howl of wolves far down the lake late into the night.

I would later work in the mining industry full time and help raise our family in several small towns across the country and deep in natural forests. Without the fever pitch of city living there was much time for hikes, lakeside picnics, swimming and gardening, and the outdoor winter sports.

Memories of these delightful experiences in the back country stay with one forever. They are such good memories, the kind that stick and leave you feeling good for the long haul.

In the autumn of my life my trips to nature now consist mostly of walking or cycling through parks, forest trails and strolling the beaches here on the Canadian Pacific coast. There is also the occasional camping and fishing with Son and Grandson. Nature is still so enjoyable after all these years.

Perhaps you don't have the time to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. Well if you have reasonable good income and fair health a review of your lifestyle might be considered. It is normal to want better lives for ourselves and our families, but what is a better life? Shouldn't we balance our goals and achievements with the cost? How much does that promotion, vacation, new purchase, cost in terms of real life? How many extra hours of stress and anxiety, now and later, go into getting it? What are we missing in the meantime?

Perhaps these wholesome and uncomplicated pleasures do not seem easily accessible to you. But take a closer look around. Go for a walk in the park, look for, hear, and smell the many things that Mother Nature has there for your appreciation. Take notice of the flowers, trees, birds, an insect crossing the sidewalk or kids playing in the snow. Look up at the cloud formations and at evening time the moon and stars.

Nature is all around in some form and waiting for our pleasures. The outdoors belong to the people of the world, and with all its vast and lovely resources is a most precious thing that needs to be cared for to the best of our ability.

In having a true appreciation for this beautiful wonder it is easy to understand the current worried talk about the environment. There has been a general shrinking in the purity and extent of our natural resources and an increasing accumulation of garbage and pollution going on for a long time.

It is so important that we all pay particular attention to what is happening and get involved in reducing waste and excesses in our consumption. Let's discuss nature's future and get our kids on the right path; to enjoy and preserve that which is under continuing assault in this great marketing-consumption era. Children are naturally interested in the forest, gardens and beaches, and especially so if they have the opportunity to experience this regularly with their parents.

"There is however, a true music of nature - the song of the birds, the whisper of leaves, the ripple of waters upon a sandy shore, the wail of wind or sea." - John Lubbock (1834-1913)

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Oversized Homes Costly and Wasteful

The wasteful production and consumption of oversized houses, cars, meals, services... have created over-sized headaches for society and the world.

The big roomy house requiring comfortable transportation to and from the suburbs has been one of the costliest detriments to sensible social development.

There is an increase in life stresses to earn more to obtain products and services that are more than we comfortably need. There is also waste and the environment to consider. As concern about nature and our social well-being are becoming more topical each year, we are beginning to realize this frantic consumer anxiety needs to be reigned in.

No more, please!

There are those huge meals that we get in restaurants that we cannot finish and are garbaged, or are unhealthy if we do manage to cram them down. Hardly a day passes where we are not coaxed to come in for more.

Downsizing our cars finally appears to be in our future but strong corporate marketing continues to dictate otherwise.

Now the scaling down of the consumer's most costly purchase, a home, may be in line for a sizable reduction in size and cost. Yet with so many making money in this business and with the encouragement to possess a 'Luxury Home You Deserve' change will be very difficult.

The 2008 US financial and housing crisis and environmental considerations have many thinking smaller. It's about time; in many areas homes have dramatically doubled or tripled in size in several decades.

There is so much to be said for reversing the grander is better trend in home ownership, as it has been a strain on society and nature. But will the corporations allow it?

Can this long trend to oversized homes be stopped and reversed?

The consumer motive: acquiring status; impressing friends, neighbors and anyone else who might be impressed or look on with envy.

The basic purpose: an ongoing need to increase business profits and using strong advertising to accomplish the task.

A difficult problem: which corporations will relinquish sales and profits for the good of citizens and mother nature?

While a larger house might display status and success, real or borrowed, there is a heavy cost in resources, both natural and personal. Besides the higher original financial cost there are greater expenditures on taxes, heating, maintenance and repair. Big houses cost!

Overly consuming citizens really need to reconsider their purposes and increase their interest in the environment, the world as a whole, and their own well being. And government needs to do the job that governments are supposed to do.

So now and again lets review what is important in life, like stress free living with simple but fun, relaxed lifestyles. A conservative simple home containing a contented loving family sounds good.

Smaller Homes for Sustainable
Living a simpler, more earth-friendly life begins with the kind of home you wake up in every morning. If contributing to a sustainable future is important to you, one single change in your lifestyle can make the biggest difference of all: living in a smaller house. Just as any motorcycle is more energy-efficient than any car, small is beautiful when it comes to houses too.

The Benefits of Small Home Living

There is a plethora of purely personal advantages to living in a smaller home:

• There is less to clean, less to maintain.
• Small homes are inherently energy-efficient.
• Smaller homes are cheaper to buy and cheaper to build.

Housing is almost always the largest expense most people will ever face. Imagine living comfortably in your small house with your small or even non-existent mortgage, and the idea of small being beautiful takes on new meaning:

If you are building new, your upfront costs will be far less.
Because you won’t have large expanses to cover, you’ll be able to use finer materials and employ superior craftsmanship for your home: quality over quantity.
With limited space, you’ll be less apt to accumulate unneeded objects and useless clutter.
In a nicely designed small house, everything is cozy and convenient, helping life to run more smoothly. With the savings in time and money, you can devote more of your leisure to your social life and hobbies.

Source: From an earlier article in Green Living Ideas website published by Important Media. This is a decentralized, niche blog network, dedicated to covering those issues which are important to our collective and individual well-being, from humanity’s survival to human happiness.

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Cars, Commerce, Consumption

The Automobile: Profit and status, waste and pollution.

What a mess cars are making of our beautiful natural world as they spread fumes and noise into once serene surroundings. In their production and usage, cars chew up Mother Nature's resources at an increasing rate. All in the name of progress.

Originally used as basic transportation for home and business the car has become much more since the days of the Model T Ford. Today it supports a major industry as well as a wonderful convenience and better standard of living for so many. But the negative aspects of this great invention are now becoming more apparent.

As in other industries the car companies' drive towards achieving greater profits has changed the way cars are produced, marketed and sold to consumers. The product that manufacturers want to sell most is not your basic transportation needs, and the advertising departments work feverishly to influence your choices. They have done a good marketing job over past decades as new owners proudly park impressive, shiny newer styled cars in their driveways, much like the TV commercials.

Automobiles are marketed aggressively for maximum corporate sales and profits as in other areas of merchandising. As long as companies need to increase their bottom line their efforts to sell products, good and sometimes bad, will be strenuous in the presence of strong competition.

This bigger, pricier car sales strategy is not new. In a dealer showroom way back in the 50's I had my mind set on a certain economy model but I was continualIy steered away from it. In fact the salesman refused to sell me the smaller model and I left. 35 years later and in a showroom helping my daughter with her concerns about choice and cost, the salesman turned to me and asked; "Who's buying this car, you or her?" As we headed to another dealer I remarked that he must have some personal problems, perhaps at home, maybe with his sales manager.

The automobile industry is a prime example of how shrewd marketing can sell maximum corporate benefits. Consider the car commercials on TV; they are not seriously trying to sell small and plain autos that use up the least resources. Most are for bigger and flashier styles, and with extra features that your friends will envy. Hybrids or electric cars may take the lead in future years but they will be made expensively and sold to generate maximum profit. Most by far will not be modest in design.

Along with continually remodeled styles the newest products can include frivolous gadgets and features that apparently are good selling points if marketed just right. And there has been a strategy where a model's size grows year-by-year until it's time to buy again; thenyour favorite model has grown in size and features and cost, and you gotta ante up considerably more than expected. Because what will your neighbors think if the choice is downsizing to a more practical purchase as the one you want to trade in?

Car commercials are amongst the noisiest on TV and can interfere with the family conversation if they are not muted. But the invasive annoying clamor attracts attention and results; it's how so much of advertising works. Rude and in-your-face works for them. In targeting the young and young at heart, commercials often sensationalize performance showing high speed maneuvers on city streets and highways. They are sending the wrong message considering the lives lost to excessive driving speeds. This is callous and harmful but it sells product. One has to wonder where the conscience of the corporate manager is hiding; perhaps ethic is a detriment in rising to top managerial positions with some businesses.

The general outcome of many years of this massive marketing effort is that cars are now commonly purchased for superficial status, even though they may be too costly when excessive to the owner's budget or needs.
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It's unfortunate that in the richer areas of the world consumers are so infatuated with these environmentally unfriendly, sleek, roomy, gadget featured, 'Look At Me' cars. But that's what they have been telling us to buy, most days of the year; and we are like sheep as we are herded towards industry showrooms.

We are being taken for a ride.

Marketing and branding are continually at work, and so the ongoing push to consume more steel, plastic, oil, and gas. But why would industry promote a basic product that represents modest, caring and friendly lifestyles when it would shrink business?

On TV during an earlier oil crisis a smiling spokesperson from the Automobile Association was defending why they aren't marketing more smaller cars. "People couldn't just sell their cars and buy smaller ones." The TV commercial which immediately followed the newsbyte was for a flashy full size SUV. Funny and grim.

Friendlier vehicles are coming off the design board as public interest in the environment rises. Can consumers resist the persuasions towards pizzazz and extra extras that they could drive into the workplace parking lot? Can we practically expect them to change to economy autos? Granted, there is a case for increased comfort for longer commutes, but where is the practical limit?

Let's face it, this inefficient, costly and unnatural way to get around must be changed. It may be necessary to own a car to get to work, school and shopping; that's the way planning has designed our urban layouts, but that has turned out to be one big mistake.

Even if we are inclined to use public transportation it probably isn't there or not practical to use if the government has had other interests. And if it is available and convenient it probably still isn't what most of would consider; every one else is driving and Peter has a new Super Spitter XYZ!!

The public's desire for improving the way we live and treat the environment will change, but it will not be easy if we are continually confronted with massive persuasions to consume more. This necessary means of transportation needs a review of its design, marketing, and effects on society. The average person does not need luxury on wheels when spending only a few hours a week in the car. Nor does the car require fast speed and polluting power to drive within the speed limit. A description of the fuel efficient car should include: The smallest vehicle that will suit your transportation needs in reasonable comfort.

The automobile must take a less destructive and healthier place in our society, but can it happen? When the car industry hit a brick wall during the financial crisis the bailed out industry reorganized, redesigned and retooled for energy efficiency to some degree. Then came the familiar and glitzy, 'Show Me Off' ads. There is little advertising of small and simple transportation - so they can later proclaim that people didn't want to buy them.

Why not review your automobile requirements to see if you can make some changes to more basic, downsized selection. And consider a reduction in usage. If public transit is available give it a try. I have been positively surprised at how convenient and relaxing transit riding can be. The ride is free time, and there are no expensive parking requirements when you arrive.

Businesses must continue to make money and so a drive into a brick wall may lie ahead unless politicians make a serious timed effort to tackle these problems for society and nature.

If the emerging economies follow the same pattern that we have, won't this world be one big ugly mess?

Albert Einstein once noted, "We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive." We had better start changing soon as we are running out of time.


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Recycle Questions Need Answers

The recycling efforts of local jurisdictions or businesses can be well below what is required to adequately deal with today's grand consumption and waste.

We have come quite a long way with the recycling of much of the basic, large volume acceptable materials. These easily handled everyday items are paper, cardboard, cans, glass bottles and numbered plastics. The procedure is well defined and the routine well established; sort and put them out to the curb. And yet, many just do not care.

In some areas there will be more comprehensive programs, as here in our area there are advertised deposit stations for computer equipment and paint.

But beyond the primary efforts there is a general lack of public information or facilities for disposing of so many other materials, much of it hazardous. The results are mountains of environmentally harmful material going into dumps daily. With budgets in mind local governments may fail to promote the disposal of difficult to recycle waste, or perhaps provide no destination.

Turning a blind eye: To knowingly refuse to acknowledge something which you know to be real.
It appears that a majority of companies do not want the cost of recycling and so ignore it. It is a fact about doing business efficiently and within the law to maximize profit. Business will very likely hesitate to get involved with the handling of difficult to salvage products, if they are not required to. If they are directed to do so, they might not encourage it.

Having a cell phone to get rid of I visited two large chain store branches both of which had large displays containing dozens of these products. When I asked about disposing of one I got similar negative replies. One clerk simply answered; "We do not recycle."

It's an ongoing business-ethic dilemma that pokes up in so many marketing scenarios. Consider that you are the manger of one of those retail branches. To take the recycle challenge and make a positive contribution to society will result in a little less profit for your store. This could negatively affect your management standing in relation to fellow managers at other stores in the chain who do not take on the cost.

What do you do?
Attempting to dispose of objects that are not on your local, easily recyclable, basic list can be frustrating. Asking a friend or neighbor where to take odd types of plastic, small appliances or gadgets and you may draw a blank, or a response; "In the garbage."

AAA, AA, C, D, NiCad, Alkaline/Zinc-Carbon, Lithium, Nickel Zinc . . . .
Small batteries must carry a neat little bit of profit because display packages of various sizes can often be found duplicated throughout a store. But it is rare to see a disposal display anywhere. Granted some batteries may be hazardous while others not, but again the information is lacking.

We continually receive very persuasive advertising information on products we 'need' to buy, much of which we do not need and will be junk in a short while. The efforts to convince us to buy are immense, but where are the encouragements to reduce, re-use and recycle? The big corporate marketing machines need to be reigned in and efforts to promote a more sensible, sustainable existence must be emphasized, for the benefit of mankind.

Metro Vancouver Recycles. But there is information out there in the internet world and perhaps for your particular area. You gotta look for it. As I searched for information on the Greater Vancouver Lower Mainland I was quite surprised to find an interactive directory of reuse and recycling services designed to help answer the question “Where do I take this?” I was previously unaware of this. The site might not have a destination for a certain disposal concern, but it does show what is available.

Only recently I happened to be scouring through the front section of our local Yellow Pages and was surprised to find a 40 page EcoGuide with loads of detailed information on garbage disposal, recycling and going green. Very nicely done but we need have everyone to know it's there.

Across the pond, Kent County UK council has a lovely website with a strong interest in the environment and climate change, planning and land use, recycling and rubbish, wildlife and biodiversity. Take an online visit for some refreshing ideas. You may even wish you could visit in person.

Plastic, plastic, everywhere.
The quantity of post-consumer plastics recycled has increased every year since at least 1990. In 2006 the amount of plastic bottles recycled reached a record high of 2.2 trillion pounds. Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material into useful products, sometimes completely different in form from their original state.
Plastic information at Wikipedia including a Plastic Identification Codes table.

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Consumption and the Environment

Commerce and society's consuming lifestyles the big natural spoiler.

Consumption: damage, destruction, exhaustion, loss, ruin, waste.
Interesting, synonyms for today's popular social occupation of consuming.

When we read about environmental deterioration and the protective remedies required, the solutions most talked about understate the most important fact. Sure we need to protect our resources, buy energy efficient products, reduce waste and pollution and there are hundreds of ways to do so. These requirements which we have finally begun working on more seriously are increasingly well discussed.

But lifestyles of consumerism have given so many of us in the richer countries that feeling of 'prosperity' without due consideration of the overall effects. Marketing has been the engine, with business and shareholder profits the purpose. Half the world has been unnecessarily over consuming, leading us down the path to destroying our planet.

It's what has made the economic system work so well financially, for so long. The system has not done so well with improving social values, family life and world poverty.

Consumption excesses.
There are currently many ideas and initiatives to slow the environmental damage but that will not be enough. A dramatic social change will be required to make the largest impact in halting and reversing this downward spiral. A change to simpler, valued lifestyles of consuming less, which so many have left behind, is looming. By choice or by result.

Through decades of steady corporate enticements, the consuming 'haves' of the world are consuming just too much, and looking forward to acquiring yet more. More gadgets, cars, homes, autos, clothes; and bigger and better each time.

Where is 'enough' in this picture?

The status quo social structure depends on maintaining this commerce-consume routine. It is solidly established and moving onward. Advertising is the tool - the go between connecting business and citizen. We should be very concerned about how we have been programmed and how our lives have been affected.

As world trade expands and the poorer nations seek a better and more humane existence some false concerns may arise. It's not simply a result of too many people on the planet.

Consumption dwarfs population as main environmental threat.
It’s the great taboo, I hear many environmentalists say. Population growth is the driving force behind our wrecking of the planet, but we are afraid to discuss it.

It sounds like a no-brainer. More people must inevitably be bad for the environment, taking more resources and causing more pollution, driving the planet ever farther beyond its carrying capacity. But hold on. This is a terribly convenient argument - “over-consumers” in rich countries can blame “over-breeders” in distant lands for the state of the planet. But what are the facts?

The world’s population quadrupled to six billion people during the 20th century. It is still rising and may reach 9 billion by 2050. Yet for at least the past century, rising per-capita incomes have outstripped the rising head count several times over. And while incomes don’t translate precisely into increased resource use and pollution, the correlation is distressingly strong.

Moreover, most of the extra consumption has been in rich countries that have long since given up adding substantial numbers to their population.

By almost any measure, a small proportion of the world’s people take the majority of the world’s resources and produce the majority of its pollution. Take carbon dioxide emissions - a measure of our impact on climate but also a surrogate for fossil fuel consumption. Stephen Pacala, director of the Princeton Environment Institute, calculates that the world’s richest half-billion people - that’s about 7 per cent of the global population - are responsible for 50 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Meanwhile the poorest 50 per cent are responsible for just 7 per cent of emissions.
. . .
comparisons between nations are firm enough to be useful.

They show that sustaining the lifestyle of the average American takes 9.5 hectares, while Australians and Canadians require 7.8 and 7.1 hectares respectively; Britons, 5.3 hectares; Germans, 4.2; and the Japanese, 4.9. The world average is 2.7 hectares. China is still below that figure at 2.1, while India and most of Africa (where the majority of future world population growth will take place) are at or below 1.0.

The United States always gets singled out. But for good reason: It is the world’s largest consumer. Americans take the greatest share of most of the world’s major commodities: corn, coffee, copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, rubber, oil seeds, oil, and natural gas. For many others, Americans are the largest per-capita consumers. In “super-size-me” land, Americans gobble up more than 120kg of meat a year per person, compared to just 6kg in India, for instance.
Read this Online Opinion article by Fred Pearce.

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. It exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

From the other side of the globe from here: India Environmental Portal
A very interesting site by the Centre for Science and Environment. It has a wide variety of environment articles and resources on pollution, forests, industry, water, climate, energy and more.

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Noise Pollution and Health

When does sound become noise?

Not necessarily when it directs your thoughts in another direction. Enjoyable music is likely to create pleasant thoughts and carefree feelings and is pleasant sound. When sound is constant, loud or annoying it can disturb and cause tension and anxiety. It is noise.

There is also noise that you do not hear consciously. Spending two days in a motel squeezed between a highway and the beach, we did not notice the traffic sound anymore after an hour or so had passed. But when we later watched a video of the wedding on the beach, the steady background noise was astounding. It wasn't background anymore.

Noise has been on a considerable rise for most of the past century thanks to manufacturing and the transporting of goods and people.

Some noise is purposely created to attract and alter our thoughts for the purpose of selling to us. TV commercials for example. Many of us realize this and do not like it very much at all. Others are unconcerned and let it seep in to find a position within their minds.

But most of us can't just pack up and move to a small country town or lakeside cottage for peace and tranquility. We have work to do, families to raise, and a consumer regimen to follow that is programmed into us from childhood.

Possibly there are things we can do to alleviate the noise intake like relocating home or job, altering traffic routes, muting commercials or shutting off the TV altogether. One thing we can do is to become more aware of noise and its effects on our well being, and then taking the steps towards achieving a prefered calmer lifestyle.

Definitions and causes
Noise pollution (or environmental noise) is displeasing human-, animal- or machine-created sound that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life. A common form of noise pollution is from transportation, principally motor vehicles. The word noise comes from the Latin word nausea meaning seasickness.

The source of most noise worldwide is transportation systems, motor vehicle noise, but also including aircraft noise and rail noise. Poor urban planning may give rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the residential area.

Other sources are car alarms, emergency service sirens, office equipment, factory machinery, construction work, groundskeeping equipment, barking dogs, appliances, power tools, lighting hum, audio entertainment systems, loudspeakers and noisy people.
Read more on noise pollution at Wikipedia.

The World Health Organization on the effects of noise:
Noise seriously harms human health and interferes with people’s daily activities at school, at work, at home and during leisure time. Traffic noise alone is harming today the health of almost every third European. The main health risks of noise identified by WHO are:

• pain and hearing fatigue;
• hearing impairment including tinnitus;
• annoyance;
• interferences with social behaviour (aggressiveness, protest and helplessness);
• interference with speech communication;
• sleep disturbance and all its consequences on a long and short term basis;
• cardiovascular effects;
• hormonal responses (stress hormones) and their possible consequences on human metabolism (nutrition) and immune system;
• performance at work and school.

The programme on noise and health at ECEH Bonn reviews the evidence on main health effects of noise and identifies the needs of specific vulnerable groups. Working in close co-operation with other WHO programmes ECEH Bonn develops indicators and guidelines for noise and health, analyses exposure-response relationships for different health effects and studies the long-term effects of night exposure to noise such as long-term sleep disturbance and cardiovascular problems.

Escape if you will: "There is however, a true music of nature - the song of the birds, the whisper of leaves, the ripple of waters upon a sandy shore, the wail of wind or sea." - John Lubbock (1834-1913).

And if you can't get there then dream of it, listen to soft music, or just relax in a quiet spot.

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Water: Conserve Protect Share

Water is such a precious commodity to the world as a whole yet in many areas it is wasted and spoiled, as if a fresh supply will always be here. Pollution has already caused serious damage to much of our ground water, rivers, lakes and oceans.

But there is much we can do to conserve on the water we consume and to prevent damage to our natural water sources.

There is an excellent source of Water Saving Tips brought to you by the water agencies of Santa Cruz County, USA area. It starts with the Top Twelve Water Saving Tips then details 45 more ways to save water indoors and outdoors.

And the EPA's Water Pollution Prevention and Conservation paper asks:
"How do we use water?" - PDF version - - HTML version
Water is a resource that has many uses, including recreational, transportation, hydroelectric power, agricultural, domestic, industrial, and commercial uses. Water also supports all forms of life and affects our health, lifestyle, and economic well being. As individuals, we use water for sanitation, drinking, and many other human needs, and we pay for the public water utilities that provide water. Water pollution is any human-caused contamination of water that reduces its usefulness to humans and other organisms in nature. Pollutants such as herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and hazardous chemicals can make their way into our water supply. When our water supply is contaminated, it is a threat to human, animal, and plant health unless it goes through a costly purification procedure. . .

And then there is the other world. A world where not only do they not have water to waste, but do not have sufficient to sustain health or life for all. Surely the rich countries of the world can conserve more of this valuable commodity and sacrifice some of their expensive excesses to ensure that nobody is denied clean water as a basic necessity.

"Water is one of the most basic of all needs -- we cannot live for more than a few days without it. And yet, most people take water for granted. We waste water needlessly and don't realize that clean water is a very limited resource. More than 1 billion people around the world have no access to safe, clean drinking water, and over 2.5 billion do not have adequate sanitation service. Over 2 million people die each year because of unsafe water - and most of them are children!" - Robert Alan

You can check out the Charity Guide for your choice donation recipient if you wish to help in the cause of poverty and unsafe water.

Select Home Energy Saving Tips

The notion is becoming very popular as the new President of the United States brings energy to the top of his agenda. Saving energy is extremely important to save the environment and to ensure a sound economic future.

And it gets personal - it can save a lot of money.

Confused with pages of tips scattered all over the web, mostly with short outlines with a few good ideas? Looking for a more comprehensive and detailed list of energy saving ideas?

There are some websites with great lists of suggestions on how to save energy, resources and your hard earned money. Here are a few good sources with nice specifics for saving energy at home.

Natural Resources Canada has a great list with explanations.
Tips on Saving Energy in Your Home includes Caulking, Lighting, Plumbing, Ceiling fans, Landscaping, Weather stripping, Storm doors, Appliances, and Miscellaneous. A good place to start!

Another great source is
The Co-op America Quarterly Summer 2008: Efficiency First
Level 1: Simple Things You Can Do Today. Save up to 33 percent of your energy use!
Level 2: A Little More Time, A Lot More Savings. Save up to 56 percent of your energy use!
Level 3: Bigger Changes, Better Paybacks. Save up to 66 percent of your energy use!

MasterYourCard's 101 Ways to Go Green and Save Money also has a long list of green ways to save in and outside the home.

We must all get involved for a better world, and save ourselves a lot of money while we're at it. This is just too important not to learn and do.

Tips to Reduce Waste and Reuse

Disposing of waste properly is necessary to protect the environment. Very important also is reducing the amount of waste produced by consuming wisely, and by reuse and recycling.

Random tips on waste reduction abound here and there. One comprehensive information source on this topic is the US Environmental Protection Agency's site on Wastes. It contains details on the principles of reducing the amount of waste we produce along with numerous pages of waste related information and tips.

Reusing products is just one way to cut down on what we throw away. Simply put, source reduction is waste prevention. It includes many actions that reduce the overall amount or toxicity of waste created. Source reduction can conserve resources, reduce pollution, and help cut waste disposal and handling costs (it avoids the costs of recycling, composting, landfilling, and combustion).

Source reduction is a basic solution to the garbage glut: less waste means less of a waste problem. Because source reduction actually prevents the generation of waste in the first place, it comes before other management options that deal with trash after it is already generated. After source reduction, recycling (and composting) are the preferred waste management options because they reduce the amount of waste going to landfills and conserve resources.

Reducing Solid Waste: The Four Basic Principles

REDUCE the amount of trash discarded
Reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging.
Adopt practices that reduce waste toxicity.

REUSE containers and products.
Consider reusable products.
Maintain and repair durable products.
Reuse bags, containers, and other items.
Borrow, rent, or share items used infrequently.
Sell or donate goods instead of throwing them out.

RECYCLE - use recycled materials, and compost.
Choose recyclable products and containers and recycle them.
Select products made from recycled materials.
Compost yard trimmings and some food scraps.

RESPOND to the solid waste dilemma by reconsidering waste-producing activities and by expressing preferences for less waste.
Educate others on source reduction and recycling practices. Make your preferences known to manufacturers, merchants, and community leaders.
Be creative—find new ways to reduce waste quantity and toxicity.

Much more on waste at the US Environmental Protection Agency's site on Wastes
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Public Transportation Vacation

I'm surprised that most people will opt to use their cars rather than public transportation even when it is not to their advantage. For example taking public transit into Vancouver city center from South Surrey can be quicker, even during rush traffic, as it uses the fast lane and rapid transit and only makes several stops. It is also cheaper when you add up fuel and parking. And it's so much more relaxing.

And how about vacations?

Several years ago my wife and I vacationed a week in the LA area and began with a few days using public transit. Having schedules made it quite easy to get to the beach and to downtown for our trial run. This worked even better on our entire Waikiki/Honolulu trip as I had pre-ordered a booklet on using the bus system there. On some vacations this can be an interesting, economical and environmental friendly way to get around.

In the Money and Values blog a post by Penny Nickel offers 15 tips for a frugal, relaxing, earth-friendly vacation that's car-free!

If your travel plans are focused on cities, then public transportation (combined with a reasonable amount of good old-fashioned walking) may work better than you think to get you where you want to go. Yes, some cities do have totally lousy/nonexistent public transit, but there are a lot whose systems are just so-so and yet do a perfectly good job of connecting you to most or all of the attractions you're interested in, not to mention the many cities with genuinely excellent public transportation.

Don't let nervousness about riding an unfamiliar public transit system hold you back! I've found repeatedly that doing a little basic research ahead of time is all you really need to get the hang of virtually any city's system. (Actually, I've also generally found that even when I'm unprepared and skip many of the steps below, I'm still able to get by fine in a strange city's transit system!)

Read 15 tips for a frugal, relaxing, earth-friendly vacation that's car-free! . . . .

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Better Recycling Info Needed

"Where do I recycle these containers, fasteners, cellophane, packing, bags, cell phones, batteries etc?"

A lot of the problems consumers have with recycling is the lack of readily available detailed information. This is particular with the various types of plastic.

Information is out there but often you may need to spend some time trying to find it. Many will avoid this inconvenience and recycle the item improperly or simply chuck it into the garbage. This is not how it should be.

Considering that all the junk we take into our possession has arrived because of information that is constantly blasted at us, it's not a level playing field. We should be receiving a steady stream of pertinent, persuasive how-to information about recycling. And the marketing of products that have a negative affect on our lives and the world should be reduced and controlled.

I just assembled a cabinet purchased at Ikea and was happy to see that the little plastic bags containing hardware had recycling numbers printed on them. It's absolutely necessary that all used consumer plastics have a destination and that we are kept totally informed on disposing of them wisely. Detailed lists should be available and distributed locally.

Some useful information on recycling plastic:
Consumers can find out which plastics are accepted in their local area and how to recycle, prepare and transfer them by contacting their local recycling hauler (usually the local city or county solid waste or public works department, or a private company). Generally, paper labels do not need to be removed from plastic bottles or containers, but lids should be thrown away because they typically are made from a type of plastic that is not recyclable. Plastic bottles and containers must be rinsed, squashed, and placed in recycle bins for collection. Plastic grocery bags are often accepted by stores in recycling containers placed near the entranceways.

Plastic Identification Codes

Plastic Identification Code	Type of plastic polymer	Properties	Common Packaging Applications
	Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE)	Clarity, strength, toughness, barrier to gas and moisture.	Soft drink, water and salad dressing bottles; peanut butter and jam jars
	High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)	Stiffness, strength, toughness, resistance to moisture, permeability to gas.	Milk, juice and water bottles; yogurt and margarine tubs; trash and retail bags.
	Polyvinyl Chloride (V)	Versatility, clarity, ease of blending, strength, toughness.	Juice bottles; cling films
	Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)	Ease of processing, strength, toughness, flexibility, ease of sealing, barrier to moisture.	Frozen food bags; squeezable bottles, e.g. honey, mustard; cling films; flexible container lids.
	Polypropylene (PP)	Strength, toughness, resistance to heat, chemicals, grease and oil, versatile, barrier to moisture.	Reusable microwaveable ware; kitchenware; yogurt containers; margarine tubs; microwaveable disposable take-away containers; disposable cups and plates.
	Polystyrene (PS)	Versatility, clarity, easily formed	Egg cartons; disposable cups, plates, trays and cutlery; disposable take-away containers; yogurt and margarine containers
	Other	Dependent on polymers or combination or polymers.	Beverage bottles; baby milk bottles.

Read more on Plastic Recycling at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

7 Simple Environment Tips

7 Simple ways to Help The Environment and Your Wallet
By Juan Anselmo Borla

The world is a big place with big problems. Some environmental activists demand we stop living our lives and look at everything we do as an Earth-changing event, but not everyone can focus their entire lives around saving the planet. The truth is that it isn't necessary to make drastic changes in one's life to make a difference. It isn't even necessary to spend more money to be environmentally conscious. Below are seven simple ways to make a difference in the environment, and save money doing it.

1. Buying compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent ones. Advances in technology have led to a light bulb that's designed to last up to 15 times the life of a standard bulb. They cost more up front, but they are replaced much less often, which makes them cheaper in the long run. Plus, these bulbs will use less than a third of the power of incandescents, which will reduce electricity costs. They also generate less heat, so less air-conditioning is needed in the summer.

2. Reusing shopping bags. Every bag reused is one less bag that needs to be manufactured. Also, several supermarket chains have started giving small credits towards their customers' bills when they bring in old bags to reuse. Some people like to keep old shopping bags in their trunk, just in case. Even more of an improvement would be using non-disposable canvas bags - they still count towards the credit at the check-out, but are made from eco-friendly materials.

3. Carpooling. Most people associate carpooling with going to work, but there are many other opportunities to share a ride. A great deal of money could be saved on gasoline by one car going to the mall rather than two. Also, with a little planning, shopping trips could be taken less frequently.

4. Turning off the water when not in use. Simple things like using half a sink full of water to wash dishes instead of running the water can prevent waste. Turning the water off while brushing your teeth is also a good idea. Finally, making sure faucets aren't left dripping will make a significant difference in water bills.

5. Completely turning off electronics. A great many of today's appliances and electronics have a standby mode. Televisions and stereos in particular tend to use a great deal of electricity while on standby. Plugging devices into a power strip that has an on/off switch can give consumers more control over their electricity use. Particular attention should be paid to anything with a big transformer plug, as these devices tend to use the most power and waste the most money.

6. Turning off the air-conditioning and/or heat when leaving the house. A great deal of electricity is wasted cooling or heating an empty home, which leads to bigger bills. Even setting the temperature one or two degrees different, keeping the system from activating as often, can save significant amounts of money each year.

7. Turning off the lights. A good rule of thumb is, "light is useless if there's nobody there." Turning off any ceiling fans, floor fans and lights when leaving the room saves just a little bit of electricity, and money, every time it's done.

Of course, there are many more ways to help the environment while saving money. These seven are simply among the most often overlooked easy solutions. Public libraries and environmental websites are great sources of further information.

About the Author
Juan Anselmo Borla is a freelance writer and poet. He lives at Dancing Rabbit, a sustainable ecovillage in northeast Missouri. There, he hopes to make the world a better place by using his Chemical Engineering degree to develop an alternative fuels program. His fiancee and two cats hope he doesn't blow himself up in the process.


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