I've been reading several posts of people bantering back and forth about the importance of recycling, and it incited me share my own views.
Recycling doesn't count for crap. It's simple statistics. The few people who actually religiously recycle are far outweighed by the people who couldn't care less.
They make about as much as a difference as the vegans who are only vegans because they think that if they stop eating burgers the world as we know it will cease to function and steak will stop being sold worldwide.
Sorry to break it to you, the world keeps turning.
I'm sure recycling nuts and extreme left-wing liberals know this already but PAPER IS BIODEGRADABLE. Sure it takes 100 years but it's not like anything ever died from eating paper and we live in such a ME NOW society that we want quick fixes regardless of the supreme consequences such as in all the electricity expended from recycling that paper wastes OTHER valuable natural resources whether it's burning coal, or damming a river and destroying natural habitats. But these people don't understand that. It's just: "there's a problem, here's a solution. Case closed." Case not closed.
It bothers me to no end that people want to recycle GLASS, a naturally occurring substance. What happens to the glass in nature? Should we organize beach clean-ups and go clear the glass off the beach? No. Because that would be ridiculous wouldn't it?
Plastic on the other hand is dangerous and more of a threat to our environment then something we need to worry about reusing. A big environmental issue seems to be Recycling, but it sometimes seems like environmentalists just recycle to feel productive.
To all the "environmentalists" out there: You're not.
(I use quotations because there are REAL environmentalists that I deeply respect and admire.)
The Earth works in a cyclical process, meaning (yes, i k now this is a shock) global warming is a lie. If global warming was a real threat then we should stop studying dinosaurs because apparently the Cretaceous Period was a bad influence on us. The Cretaceous was a time when the world was a giant rainforest, then what happened? OMG! AN ICE AGE? NO WAY! Yes way. Could that be repeating itself? Al Gore says no, and who am I to debate him? He invented the Internet after all.
It's hard to believe the great demi-gods known as humans cannot control the planet, as much as we may try, but the world WILL repair itself, even if it has to take us out for that to occur. Rather then recycle why don't we try something that actually makes a difference?
Like reducing the use of plastics in our household? Using less paper won't really lower deforestation because wood is used for everything, but why don't we try and increase public awareness of the dangers of deforestation and encroaching upon preserved lands.
For as great as mother earth is, there is one thing she cannot return, and that is a species forced into extinction, not out of natural selection, survival of the fittest, but by the needy, greedy clutches of man.
Sorry kiddies, hate to break it to you but recycling amounts to jack in the real world. Tree's get a second chance. Unfortunately, the Arabian Gazelle does not. Maybe now is a good time to see if your time couldn't be better spent in a more productive hobby. Like memorizing Pi.
While I won't rule out recycling as a healthy habit, you do make a point that if we truly care about our environment, we should do more to actually make a difference.
~The Writer~
Thank you and you are correct, recycling is a good habit.
I only meant to point out it is not the great savior of the environment, only a means to stay environmentally aware.
Last week, my school recycled 30% of its waste. That's a pretty significant percentage on a campus of well over 10,000 people, especially when at least 1000 live on campus full time. Our campus is also working to reduce total waste per person, so recycling is just one part of it. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of schools participating in the program we are nationwide. If all of them recycle 30% of their waste... that's a pretty big impact. Just saying.
~C
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~The Writer~
And as great as that is that you've done that, you're proving the problem right there.
You can't sit back smugly with an ideological sense of contentment like, "Man, I'm so good. I got my school to recycle 30% of its waste! Now I'll just wait around for everyone else to do the same thign and follow our example." Because they won't.
30% is alot, especially out of 100,000 kids. That's 30,000 persons worth of wate you've picked up (The actual figures elude me).
http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ/alpha/
I'm not even going to attempt to count all those campuses. And thats only college.
You still have high school, elementary school, jr. high, ofofice waste, personal waste, litter, corporate waste, etc. Oh...and you can factor in all the pollution and emissions that go into the air every day, because we have quite a few biggger problems.
S, I'm going to stick with no...That didn't really amount to anything except making you feel like a good person for a day.
Kind of a waste.
Especially when you could've taken that time and money and organized an environmental action group to raise money and purchase land to prevent deforestation, or work alongside professional groups to prevent animal extinction.
1) I'm not being smug, and I didn't do anything beyond complain to my geography teacher that the dorms didn't have recycle bins, and that's one of the best ways to save some waste.
2) I said 10,000 people, not 100,000 kids. We only have 7,000 students at our university (though there are 35,000 at the main campus we're competing against). I was including all the faculty and staff as well.
3) What on earth makes you think that I'm not doing anything else to help the environment? In the end, every little bit helps.
~C
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every little bit helps? no, people just say that so they can feel like their part of something, like their contributing to our planets well being
basically, environmentalism is more about people helping themselves feel good rather than them helping the environment
sure, you recycled. woo!!! but its a teaspoon in an ocean. its so small, so insignificant that it has little effect. "but if everyone recycles, then we can save our planet!" no. everyone does not and will not recycle. they are either too apathetic and dont care [me] or arent in a position where they can recycle their waste [india china south america africa southeast asia].
pollution is a world sized problem and needs a world sized solution. no matter how many planeteers you recruit, no, the power is not yours. the power is the governments of the world, most specifically india, china, the us, and europe. why? because we make the most waste
so what can you do? not much. recycle, sure, if it makes you feel better. but that dosent do much. if you want to "help" write to your government [on paper-the remnants of trees :P] or vote for politicians that are eco-friendly. but dont get on some high horse going on about how much you helped the planet because you threw some aluminum in the green cylinder instead of the black one.
o, and btw. JD? nice blog lol
~The Writer~
I don't really have a lot to reply.
Ramon_Lopez definitely summed it up pretty well.
And saying recycling is the best way to save some waste is a personal opinion, not a fact.
Personally I think, you know, not using so much paper in the first place is a better way, but hey, that's just me. Go pull out all your notebooks and textbooks and scratch paper and magazines and newspapers and letters and just look at them.
How much of that do you think you'll end up recycling?
I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you probably won't recycle even half that stuff. Not because you don't care, because it's extremely obvious you do, but because you probably just won't think about it.
Just throwing your coffee cup into that big green bin every day isn't close to cutting it, even on a personal level. And what about all the other people in your dorm alone?
The people who recycle when they are conscious of it, but who have an equal amount of papers lying around their room that they will probably just toss when the clutter gets too expansive.
That would actually probably be a pretty good project. Monitor, for one month, all the papers everyone, just in your hall or even one class, carries around, or gets back, or takes a test on. Then find out how much of it, per person, they recycled at the end of that month. I'm sure the results would give a new perspective.
And in response to your second point: Ok, I made a typo. Take off a zero. Come on, that's fourth grade math. 100,000 becomes 10,000, 30,000 becomes 3,000. I know, shocking as it may seem it still maintains relevance. Yay, percentages!
And,since Ramon_Lopez basically answered point 3 for me, I'll save myself the effort.
Personally, I recycle the vast majority of my paper. I am a consultant for a catalog based company, and recycle all of those catalogs still in my inventory at the end of the term (August and December, usually). I tend to hord my papers, and recycle all the ones I don't want to keep anymore at the end of the semester. I don't throw books away... I give them away or resell them, if I want to get rid of them at all. The paper I do throw away is usually the paper that they wrap food in, because it's so soiled that they don't want it in the recycle bins. The rest of the paper goes in a nice stack next to my dresser to be taken out when the pile gets too big. My roommates and I all recycle as much plastic, cardboard, and tin/aluminum as we can, mostly because it cuts the number of times we have to take out the trash.
It annoys the crap out of me that we have such complicated packaging. Why should I go through 10 layers of plastic, foil and cardboard to reach my food, or deal with the plastic wrap on DVDs and CDs? Unfortunately, there's only so much I can do to reduce that, personally. I'm appalled that our conservation bio professor insists that we print at least 3 pages per class for homework alone, when we could all get by with just 2 (course, that has to do with the personal cost as well, since I don't have a printer, and our university is moving to charge us for each page we print). I walk to class when its nice, and ride the bus when it's not. I'd ride the bus to work as well if it could get me there in a decent time (sadly, our public transportation sucks). I refuse to buy styrofoam plates, because they're made with some nasty chemicals and take absolutely forever to degrade.
If I get the time, I'll be landscaping my mom's yard with more than tumbleweeds, which will hopefully include some nice green plants (even if they're only cacti).
I do realize that not everyone is like I am, but that doesn't mean that the hundreds to thousands of pounds of waste I stop from going into a landfill during my lifetime won't make any impact at all.
As I said before, just because someone recycles doesn't mean that they don't do other things as well.
~C
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And really, who cares if all I do by recycling is make myself feel better? Is that so bad?
But the point I really want to make, as an extension of your last comment, mvenus, is that reducing the consumption of overly packaged goods is the best way to go. Not only does it make a small dent in what gets put out there, it reduces your direct contact with poisonous plastics, which is good for you, even if it isn't enough to save the world!
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
No! That's a good thing!
Just don't go parading around like Al Gore, about how you're saving the environment.
And don't go pushing other people into it. Because you can't.
~The Writer~
I'm glad you're so intense about this stuff.
I wish more people were.
It's a bit obsessive, but at least your vices are good ones.
I have no idea why corporate america packages like that, but you're right, there's really nothing you can do.
It won't make enough of an impact to do anything significant globally tho. sadly.
~The Writer~
If everyone did there little part then recycling could work. The problem is many people do not choose to do so. I understand your point and your right it is a waste of time unless everyoone is going to get involved. Nice post.
..is reducing and reusing. Those do more for the environment than recycling. That's why they are first in the mantra--reduce, reuse, recycle. If everyone did their part on ALL THREE of those, it would make a difference. On its own, recycling is a drop in a giant bucket. But try convincing Americans to buy in bulk (and by bulk I mean loose bulk and not giant Costco boxes with individual packages) and reuse spaghetti jars...its just not on the radar for most people.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman