The United States of America is currently 234 years old. That’s like a teenager in “nation years.” In our short time of existence, we have racked up trillions of dollars in debt and use, according to Answers.com , 280,000 hectares, or 6,918.95 acres, of our soil, the soil once rich with the blood of the revolutionaries that fought against the tyrannies of years gone by, is covered by landfills. The average lot size for a single family home in the US is 0.298438 of an acre, which means that it would take 23,183+ average homes to equate to the amount of space used for landfills. Where the heck am I going with this? I shall tell you.
None of that crap was here before we were and someone, somewhere, spent money on every single item in those trash heaps. What if we occupied those 6,918.95 acres, counting the heights to which each mound of steamy gooey garbage reaches, with nice, crisp dollar bills instead? Would it add up to a trillion dollars? Or, really, let’s be honest, there’s lots more than just dollar store items sitting there, all of which will never be reused and most of which,, will take a long time spewing toxins into our air, soil and water to decompose, not to mention the tax dollars and private dollars spent on processing and such.
It wasn’t always this way. There was a time before the neo-green movement inspired us to not just recycle, but re-purpose, when everyone did JUST that and managed a green existence without looking for the “green” labels. There was a time when Mayonnaise, for instance, came in glass jars. And when the mayo was all used up, the glasses got washed and used for drinking. They only got thrown away when they broke. No one depended on petroleum products for their mayonnaise storage and no one registered for hundreds of dollars in glassware on bridal registries. There was a time everyone wore hand me downs, and when they finally died, they became cleaning rags, or ties for tomato plants, or even portions of quilts, not electric blankets, for cold winters’ nights. We didn’t throw it away!
But things got hectic, small businesses grew into/ got absorbed by big businesses. People worked for these big businesses, then the women got jobs too and all of a sudden, there was no time to sew a quilt or darn a sock or wash a jar. So the things that could have been mended became disposable and then even they became too inefficient, and they were replaced, with cheaper products of lesser quality that didn’t last. Automobiles made in 1950s still run today. Do the cars from the 1990’s do that?
What was wrong with the stuff that actually lasted in the first place? Don’t we all want to get our money’s worth from products that not only last, but can be re-purposed? Do we have to spend money we don’t have on “green labeled” products from big corporations when, any home remedy book will tell you that whatever good ol’ fashioned vinegar can’t clean, baking soda can? And what, pray tell, was wrong with the workers that produced the products that made the Made in the USA label synonymous with quality? They wanted to get paid?
We, in the United States, actually did just fine without, I would estimate, 90% of the things that all these too-big-to-fail-corporations produce for us. Now, they aren’t providing the jobs, and we still feel like we have to purchase their products. They think our workers became too inefficient and needed to be replaced? Do they really want us to think that we are as disposable as the products they produce? Well, I say, if we are replaceable, SO ARE THEY!
I am obsessed with this list at Petroleum.com. Take a couple of minutes, review it and challenge yourself to see how many of those things, have been or could be substituted with something that’s not petroleum based. It’s easier than ya think. Then, broaden your thinking the products from all big corporations. When’s the last time you have made ANY purchase and expected it to last? Be honest with yourself. When’s the last time you have applied for a job and expected it to last? Be honest. See a pattern here?
We are Americans. Our freedom was hard fought. I wonder how many of those revolutionaries are rolling over in their graves as Corporate America disposes of us, the working class, one by one. Cutting education so we don’t learn to think for ourselves, creating unaffordable health care so we are too sick and feeble to stand up for ourselves? Cutting our jobs, so we are too preoccupied with getting food on the table to pay attention to what “they” are doing. Creating mindless bickering amongst political parties…what happened to United We Stand, Divided We Fall? Well, we certainly are divided, because we are broke and because we are broken, but surely we aren't disposable- we can be mended and we can be re-purposed. For what you might ask? Maybe it's time we decided.
None of that crap was here before we were and someone, somewhere, spent money on every single item in those trash heaps. What if we occupied those 6,918.95 acres, counting the heights to which each mound of steamy gooey garbage reaches, with nice, crisp dollar bills instead? Would it add up to a trillion dollars? Or, really, let’s be honest, there’s lots more than just dollar store items sitting there, all of which will never be reused and most of which,, will take a long time spewing toxins into our air, soil and water to decompose, not to mention the tax dollars and private dollars spent on processing and such.
It wasn’t always this way. There was a time before the neo-green movement inspired us to not just recycle, but re-purpose, when everyone did JUST that and managed a green existence without looking for the “green” labels. There was a time when Mayonnaise, for instance, came in glass jars. And when the mayo was all used up, the glasses got washed and used for drinking. They only got thrown away when they broke. No one depended on petroleum products for their mayonnaise storage and no one registered for hundreds of dollars in glassware on bridal registries. There was a time everyone wore hand me downs, and when they finally died, they became cleaning rags, or ties for tomato plants, or even portions of quilts, not electric blankets, for cold winters’ nights. We didn’t throw it away!
But things got hectic, small businesses grew into/ got absorbed by big businesses. People worked for these big businesses, then the women got jobs too and all of a sudden, there was no time to sew a quilt or darn a sock or wash a jar. So the things that could have been mended became disposable and then even they became too inefficient, and they were replaced, with cheaper products of lesser quality that didn’t last. Automobiles made in 1950s still run today. Do the cars from the 1990’s do that?
What was wrong with the stuff that actually lasted in the first place? Don’t we all want to get our money’s worth from products that not only last, but can be re-purposed? Do we have to spend money we don’t have on “green labeled” products from big corporations when, any home remedy book will tell you that whatever good ol’ fashioned vinegar can’t clean, baking soda can? And what, pray tell, was wrong with the workers that produced the products that made the Made in the USA label synonymous with quality? They wanted to get paid?
We, in the United States, actually did just fine without, I would estimate, 90% of the things that all these too-big-to-fail-corporations produce for us. Now, they aren’t providing the jobs, and we still feel like we have to purchase their products. They think our workers became too inefficient and needed to be replaced? Do they really want us to think that we are as disposable as the products they produce? Well, I say, if we are replaceable, SO ARE THEY!
I am obsessed with this list at Petroleum.com. Take a couple of minutes, review it and challenge yourself to see how many of those things, have been or could be substituted with something that’s not petroleum based. It’s easier than ya think. Then, broaden your thinking the products from all big corporations. When’s the last time you have made ANY purchase and expected it to last? Be honest with yourself. When’s the last time you have applied for a job and expected it to last? Be honest. See a pattern here?
We are Americans. Our freedom was hard fought. I wonder how many of those revolutionaries are rolling over in their graves as Corporate America disposes of us, the working class, one by one. Cutting education so we don’t learn to think for ourselves, creating unaffordable health care so we are too sick and feeble to stand up for ourselves? Cutting our jobs, so we are too preoccupied with getting food on the table to pay attention to what “they” are doing. Creating mindless bickering amongst political parties…what happened to United We Stand, Divided We Fall? Well, we certainly are divided, because we are broke and because we are broken, but surely we aren't disposable- we can be mended and we can be re-purposed. For what you might ask? Maybe it's time we decided.
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