Should You Buy Stuff to Save the Environment?
Should you run out and replace your straws, appliances, car and house with new, efficient models? Probably not.
An article in The Times describes how the author became an eco-Puritan. She acknowledges that in her circle, at least, it's a bunch of virtue signaling. I know some people really are passionate about helping the environment, but if your friends are looking down their noses at you for your wrapping paper, maybe it's time to find new friends--ones that won't trade YOU in for a more efficient model.
Let's consider some of the ways people try to "save the environment."
Upgrading your refrigerator (or car, or any appliance). A new refrigerator might be a lot more efficient, but your buying one isn't doing anything to "save the environment." The old refrigerator will be hauled away to a recycling center or used appliance shop, cleaned (boy, do they stink when they get to room temperature), sold, and delivered to a new address. Now, there's a new refrigerator and a used refrigerator in service. It's just as if you'd kept your old fridge and the other person bought a new one--except that the old fridge got a cleaning and a ride to the other side of town.
Avoiding meat and dairy. You can't quit eating calorie-dense meat and dairy without replacing them with something else. The "something else" tends to include grains and soy--monocrops that destroy habitats, take fossil fuels to fertilize, and require pesticide even if organic. Some people think it's more efficient for people to eat the grains themselves instead of feeding them to livestock without stopping to think that grains fatten up livestock--and they do the same thing to humans, in addition to giving some people diabetes. People eat more calories on high-carb diets. This human buys mostly pasture-raised meat and eggs and wild-caught fish. If others need to eat conventionally raised meat, that's OK with me. See The Vegetarian Myth by ex-vegan Lierre Keith.
Commuting on a bike. Granted, this is a way to conserve energy as opposed to driving. But if you're also into long-distance travel for pleasure, the two would seem to cancel each other out. Personally, as with meat and dairy, I'd rather save myself than try to save the environment. Biking on city streets is hazardous.
Are there better ways to reduce energy use--and save some money? Yes, though they're not likely to impress your friends.
Move to smaller digs. If you're in a house too large for your needs because it's in a good school district, or for other reasons beyond your control, I sympathize. But some of us can use less energy--and probably save money--in a smaller home. If you're concerned about a lack of privacy in a smaller home, look at more traditionally designed homes built to house more people in a smaller space. ETA: household sizes make this different from the refrigerator example. Let's say there's a town with apartments and three-bedroom houses, and the houses are now full of empty nesters and their 20-something-year-old kids live in the apartments. Like a lot of empty nesters, they want to stay in their houses. But once the next generation starts forming families, they'll want three-bedroom houses. If their parents don't move, they'll have to build new houses.
Quit buying stuff you don't need. Recycling and re-using are great, but not getting the stuff in the first place is even better. As the man said, "Don't buy shit you don't need to impress assholes you don't really like."
Buy well-made goods in a classic style instead of disposable junk. Cheaply made furniture looks shabby within a few years and you might even have to pay to have it hauled away. Everything from clothing to tchotchkes in odd shapes, colors and styles are soon outdated--and even shoppers at Goodwill won't want them. An 80-year-old desk in good shape, on the other hand, or a 10-year-old couch in good condition, will probably be in good condition for a long while. They may need refinishing or a slipcover, but they're worth it. Antique stores are full of bargains like these because everyone wants new junk from Ikea they'll eventually send to a landfill.
These suggestions are all low-key and unlikely to impress your friends. Now, if you want to be that annoying twit who helps the environment AND virtue signals, put up a clothes line where an HOA doesn't allow it. Eat snout to tail; be sure to eat your beef tongue where people will see you. Make a compost pile regardless of rodent or wildlife problems in your area. Plant your front yard full of prairie grass. And post it all on social media.
An article in The Times describes how the author became an eco-Puritan. She acknowledges that in her circle, at least, it's a bunch of virtue signaling. I know some people really are passionate about helping the environment, but if your friends are looking down their noses at you for your wrapping paper, maybe it's time to find new friends--ones that won't trade YOU in for a more efficient model.
Let's consider some of the ways people try to "save the environment."
Upgrading your refrigerator (or car, or any appliance). A new refrigerator might be a lot more efficient, but your buying one isn't doing anything to "save the environment." The old refrigerator will be hauled away to a recycling center or used appliance shop, cleaned (boy, do they stink when they get to room temperature), sold, and delivered to a new address. Now, there's a new refrigerator and a used refrigerator in service. It's just as if you'd kept your old fridge and the other person bought a new one--except that the old fridge got a cleaning and a ride to the other side of town.
Avoiding meat and dairy. You can't quit eating calorie-dense meat and dairy without replacing them with something else. The "something else" tends to include grains and soy--monocrops that destroy habitats, take fossil fuels to fertilize, and require pesticide even if organic. Some people think it's more efficient for people to eat the grains themselves instead of feeding them to livestock without stopping to think that grains fatten up livestock--and they do the same thing to humans, in addition to giving some people diabetes. People eat more calories on high-carb diets. This human buys mostly pasture-raised meat and eggs and wild-caught fish. If others need to eat conventionally raised meat, that's OK with me. See The Vegetarian Myth by ex-vegan Lierre Keith.
Commuting on a bike. Granted, this is a way to conserve energy as opposed to driving. But if you're also into long-distance travel for pleasure, the two would seem to cancel each other out. Personally, as with meat and dairy, I'd rather save myself than try to save the environment. Biking on city streets is hazardous.
Are there better ways to reduce energy use--and save some money? Yes, though they're not likely to impress your friends.
Move to smaller digs. If you're in a house too large for your needs because it's in a good school district, or for other reasons beyond your control, I sympathize. But some of us can use less energy--and probably save money--in a smaller home. If you're concerned about a lack of privacy in a smaller home, look at more traditionally designed homes built to house more people in a smaller space. ETA: household sizes make this different from the refrigerator example. Let's say there's a town with apartments and three-bedroom houses, and the houses are now full of empty nesters and their 20-something-year-old kids live in the apartments. Like a lot of empty nesters, they want to stay in their houses. But once the next generation starts forming families, they'll want three-bedroom houses. If their parents don't move, they'll have to build new houses.
Quit buying stuff you don't need. Recycling and re-using are great, but not getting the stuff in the first place is even better. As the man said, "Don't buy shit you don't need to impress assholes you don't really like."
Buy well-made goods in a classic style instead of disposable junk. Cheaply made furniture looks shabby within a few years and you might even have to pay to have it hauled away. Everything from clothing to tchotchkes in odd shapes, colors and styles are soon outdated--and even shoppers at Goodwill won't want them. An 80-year-old desk in good shape, on the other hand, or a 10-year-old couch in good condition, will probably be in good condition for a long while. They may need refinishing or a slipcover, but they're worth it. Antique stores are full of bargains like these because everyone wants new junk from Ikea they'll eventually send to a landfill.
* * * * *
These suggestions are all low-key and unlikely to impress your friends. Now, if you want to be that annoying twit who helps the environment AND virtue signals, put up a clothes line where an HOA doesn't allow it. Eat snout to tail; be sure to eat your beef tongue where people will see you. Make a compost pile regardless of rodent or wildlife problems in your area. Plant your front yard full of prairie grass. And post it all on social media.
Comments
I do my best to recycle, but sorry I'm not getting on a bike, and public transport does not always take me where I need to get so I will continue to use my car …
Certainly a lot to think about, including the latest 'Here's what to eat to save yourself and the planet: less meat, more veg'
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/here-s-what-eat-save-yourself-planet-less-meat-more-n959556
Have a good weekend, well it will soon be here :)
All the best Jan
I think the environmental anti-meat stance is based on feeding grain to livestock. Time was when buffalo roamed the Midwest; there's a buffalo on the state seal of Indiana. How is it better to raise grain and soy here than it is to raise and eat cattle that mimic all the things the buffalo did?