A new paradigm in consumerism is cleaner, happier, more profitable, and possible.
Within this TED Talk: At his carpet company, Ray Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional “take / make / waste” industrial system on its head. In a gentle, understated way, he shares a powerful vision for sustainable commerce.
The beautifully-written (and narrated!) poem “Tomorrow’s Child” starts at 14:09, but please listen to the video in its entirety to get the picture.
Seeing as April is the month of both Earth Day and Arbor Day, I think it’s only appropriate to focus on an environmental issue close to home this week. We’ve recently heard much about the potential wind turbines at the University, campus initiatives begun by student groups such as the Student Sustainability Committee and other eco-driven efforts in this time of environmental concern.
These certainly deserve attention, but I would instead like to talk about the finger-pointing spat involving parties concerned about the toxic contamination at the intersection of Fifth and Hill streets just north of campus. Such miscommunication has further confused residents’ understanding of the health risks at hand. Continue reading →
We can point fingers all day in searching for the culprit of the global climate’s critical state. I’ll bypass the blame game and reveal the biggest factor in determining the future of the earth: you.
Suhail Barot, president of the Student Sustainability Committee, pointed out the U.S. House of Representatives’ recent approval of a budget proposal that makes many cuts to critical environmental programs. Our wind turbine struggle has not been alleviated, and Barot cites the deficient bicycling infrastructure and last May’s neglected climate action plan as pressing local issues.
We all hear about global warming, but it’s difficult to relate its impact in our daily lives.
“‘Eco-friendly’ and ‘sustainability’ are these buzz words, but people don’t really realize that there are so many ways to be conscious of our own role (in the push for environmental consciousness),” said Em-J Staples, senior in Media and editor of the student-run environment publication ‘The Green Observer.’ The former Illini Media employee used Champaign’s I.D.E.A. Store, which sells re-used items for art and crafts purposes, as an example of how anyone can be creative in this effort.
A similarly impressive idea is the School of Art and Design’s International E-Waste Design Competition. For the past two years, students have explored ways to rectify the negative externalities caused by electronic waste. If each University department followed this competition format, we could solidify our position as a global leader in this ecological campaign.
History and hard data are essential to understanding the levity of the issue, but I’ll leave it to you to research the numbers. Read Juliet Schorr’s “Plenitude” and watch “180 Degrees South” or BBC’s “Human Planet” series (the human impact follow-up to “Planet Earth”) to get a better idea of my approach to the issue.
With a steadily deteriorating environment and partisan politics stalling energy reform, you and I must learn to be self-sustaining. By addressing oil companies’ and governments’ eco-blunders, we can better understand how easy it can be to forget the negative externalities our actions have on the world.
I hope you’ll consider a few ways that each of us can minimize our ecological footprints. I must begin by saying that there’s a reason why gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. Over-consumption in this time of obvious resource exhaustion must become a vainglorious way of the past. With excessive luxury by the wayside, it’s possible to challenge wasteful norms. Here are proposals for a greener future:
Sacrifice a little when it comes to shower-time. Comfort may suffer, but take solace in the fact that if every U of I student cut down his shower by one minute, we would save over 100,000 gallons of water each shower.
Bars could easily have better relationships with Mother Earth. Some bars have a compactor for their trash, but doormen’s arms wrapped in garbage bags are the only other waste treatment available. The city’s Feed The Thing recycling program has saved 65 tons of landfill space in its first month, and passing a commercial ordinance for bars and restaurants would make a big difference.
I had the chance to try out the environmentally-friendly Berry Plus laundry detergent for free this semester, and I’m stickin’ to it. “Nay!” I say to the archaic gallons of detergent and powder of yesterday. Berry Plus is smaller, cheaper and is 95 percent berry-based — surely a winner for our planet.
Reusing water bottles and grocery bags (European stores charge per plastic bag) and turning off needless lights are other small ways to be environmentally conscious.
Of course we should be able to live in comfort. Luxury, though, is not a feasible mindset for human development. A little consideration now will go a long way in allowing our progeny the same environmental opportunities we have.
A.M.Roth 