The Beginning of the End

Over the past 6 weeks, recycle mania has taken many steps towards living a more sustainable, environmentally friendly lifestyle. The restraints of our project included not purchasing anything, except for on-campus food, for the entire duration of the project. The focus of our project and blog was to reduce our impact and reuse and recyle our current belongings. We began by eliminating trivial items from our daily routines, such as straws, plastic bags, lids, paper towels, napkins, and utensils, to reduce our impact on the environment. These were all unnecessary items that we used simply for convenience and luxury to make our lives easier. Our group members were successful in eliminating those items and then proceeded to influence and persuade other members of the community to follow their lead. For example, when we went to eat with friends, we would explain the negative impacts of using a plastic bag that would sit in a land fill forever because it never degrades.

Our group also investigated the wasterfullness of college students, particularly with electronics, batteries and plasitc bottles or cans, and the efforts of Elon University to become a more sustainable campus. In the early 1980's, a student initiated movement caused an increase in campus recycling by 31%. Among the many items Elon reccyles for Elon students, batteries are a significant portion. Four battery recycle stations can be found in on campus in high traffic areas for the convenienc of students. With regards to electronics, such as computers, cell phones, ipods, and cameras, virtually every student has at least, sometimes more than, one of each. Many students also purchase a new computer, or other piece of technology, every year to ensure they own the latest model. This is an extremely wasteful practice that is a product of a media-advertisment influenced society that relays the message to people that they constantly must have the most up-to-date technology to function in society. This trend is exaserbated by the fact that people do not dispose of their "old" technology properly. Chemicals inside electronics have severe medical side-effects. Time magazie reported that 1, 15inch computer monitor could have up to 7lbs of lead.

So what's the moral of the story? Don't let corporate America confince you that you must have a consumerist lifestyle to be happy! Put away the credit cards and cash! Stop buying, buying, buying! Save money and time and put more effort into relationships and living a simpler lifestyle. Trust me, you'll enjoy having more time and money and living a less stressful life. If you must buy something, buy something made from recycable materials, or better yet, something that has been used by someone else. Reusing items is a great way to reduce your impact. Finally, after you've bought something and are finished with it, recycle it! Avoid an unnecessary contributor to landfills and chemical exposures by reclying items properly. Or just swap items with friends. What's one man's junk is another man's treasure!

Where is the whole “green” movement going to go in the future? One thing is for sure: if we do not either conserve our resources or find an alternate means for energy that is inexpensive and efficient, we are going to be headed down a long and sorry road. While the think tanks in the science department are working on a solution to that problem, regular people are going to need to take initiative to save our resources.

The first thing that I think will occur in the future is reusing what we can. Many products are being created so that they can be recycled or used as something else. Take for example the notebooks made out of recycled materials. It lowers the necessity to create new materials and is just as good.

Or, the company that takes old clothing and turns them into a rug. They are made from clothes that are too worn through for the Salvation Army but will sit in a landfill if thrown away. In our last blog entry was an article about clothing and shoes made from recycled materials. If other companies followed this example, we would never have to create new materials again.

This semester we examined several examples of campaigns making a difference. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute film narrated by Anne Leonard. The film shows the process of production, and the consumerism of America that fuels the overproduction trends of factories around the world. The waste of energy and resources were well illustrated in the film. Additionally, Leonard described how this trend produces vast amounts of waste that go to landfills, and gases harmful to the atmosphere, causing Global Warming. To end this cycle, individuals need to resist the “need” to constantly update their property.

Additionally, Chris Martenson’s Crash course illustrated the economic and environmental issues the United States are facing. He described these as predicaments. Unlike problems, these predicaments have outcomes. The United State’s economic predicament is a financial debt that is an unending cycle. The environmental predicament is the extreme depletion of natural resources. Skyrocketing industry is placing demands on the environment that cannot be withstood. According to Martenson, “the next twenty years will be nothing like the last”. This prediction will soon become a reality before our generation’s eyes, and the current issues of the housing crisis and retirement will be irrelevant as we cope with massive debt and seek completely different means to obtain energy.

Al Gore’s, an Inconvenient Truth, echoed this environmental issue as well. This movie illustrated the reality of Global Warming, and the drastic effects that will occur unless current trends are reversed. Unless steps are taken to reduce emissions damaging the earth’s protective atmosphere, the earth will undergo permanent changes that will be detrimental.

These three examples reveal a very important issue that needs to be addressed by our generation. It is not too late to start changing the trends that are harmful to the environment. The threat of Global Warming and a crisis of the depletion of resources can be combated. As we saw in Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, one person’s will and determination can make a difference. Maathai’s inspiring story is a wonderful example. The Nobel Prize winner overcame the expectations of her culture, and gained respect for women, protected the environment of her home, and aided democracy in Kenya. Her greatest weapon in this movement? Simply planting trees.

From these campaigns in the media, we can gather the importance of being environmentally aware, and encouraging others to do the same. It is not to late for our generation to start combating the problems we will inevitably face unless changes are made.

Our generation really must step it up in the coming years or else we will be in trouble with no resources left.

--RecycleMania