"garden-addicted" wrote in
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I would like to hear people opinion on the following.

Its my view that reducing our personal fossil fuel usage and recycling
is not the most important thing to helping our environment.

It is in fact our attitude on constantly trying to save money all the
time. We now have a cheap throwaway culture. We now expect everything
to be cheap and then when it breaks of fails we are not surprised. Most
of these goods come from Asia. Which is now the highest pollutant in the
world.

Once we expected a product to last, yes it did cost more but it lasted.
I have members of my family that are happy to buy a pair of cheap
secateurs for less than £10, use for a season and then throw them away,
instead of looking after a good paid for their entire life. Its worse
with electrical goods. The cheaper we can get them the better!! Yes we
buy a cheap unbranded strimmer from our local DIY store and after one
or two years it gets thrown away. Did we need the strimmer in the first
pace? Couldn't we have spent a little more on something that was made in
regulated Europe and will maybe last longer?

Cheaper is always at a cost!

I am shocked at the amount of toys my children have this year and the
amount that are never going to be used. Cheap plastic toys that have
taken energy and world resources to produce for absolutely no reason.
After 2 years of not being used these are going to go into the bin, and
yes they are plastic so will not be recycled.

Flights for £5? Another example of our current attitude. Maybe there
should be a £50 environmental charge on top of this. Every time we fly
a few trees are planted. We always want to do as we like regardless of
the cost to the environment, but are we happier than previous
generations that didn't. I don't believe we are.

this is part of the problem, and part of the solution I will grant you. Its
a wholistic approach however that makes the big difference.

For example - George W has suddenly discovered global warming and speaks of
converting more corn to ethanol. Less greenhouse gases he reckons. Problem
is, food is being processed in to gas. Food is needed to feed people, it
also takes all manner of inputs to grow. Is it a viable option? Sure,
greenhouse gases may be reduced but are the enviro costs simply being
transfered elsewhere.

Some people say why should small countries make an effort with global
warming when George W just sat on his hands. Answer, because every bit
people do goes toward solving problems. If George doesn't give a shit and I
don't give a shit then we are likely in shit.

I agree that we consume too much useless shit and too much useless shit that
breaks down quickly. The answer lies I think in the simple mantra reuse,
reduce, recycle. Recycle comes at the end of reuse and reduce. Reuse comes
first.

If we use something once can we use it over again, and again, and again. If
not, can we reduce what we consume. Only after those 2 questions should we
look at recycling.

I wore through the butt of a pair of short I wear around home and walking
the mutts. I could go to the local dept store and but a $20 pair made in
China. Why however, when there are pairs already made in second hand stores.
For 3/4 of the price of a new pair I got 3 pairs including some dress shorts
and 2 mucking around at home pairs. Same goes for shoes, $90 new or $8
second hand and some shoe polish. I draw a line at gruts and socks and some
gear I need for work.

Our microwave stuffed up after 10 years service. We did buy a new one but
gave the old one away to a joker who could rig a temporary fix and use it
for a few months. Other used gear has gone the same way to people who can
use it over again.

Plastic bags in shops, no thanks. I will reduce there. If I get bags they
get recycled picking up dog poop. The poop goes under the hedge, the bags go
in the bin.

If something with metal parts breaks down and can't be repaired it gets
taken apart and the metal taken to a local scrap dealer on my way to work.

I may sound like a smug preachy *******, thats not my intention if so. I
still pollute the atmosphere with my car and flush stuff down the sewer the
earth probably wishes I didn't. Point being however we can make differences
in small ways, they all add up. A line from a Sting song written 22 years
ago now sums it up for me "forever conditioned to believe that we can't live
here and be happy with less".

rob