I don’t need to tell you how hot a topic climate change is, and my intention here is not to belittle the subject. It is a serious issue, and our actions are long overdue. Climate change is only the symptom though. It is the result of structures adopted hundreds of years ago. Yes, folks, I am talking about the root cause of how we got to this state, and it’s commonly referred to as Take - Make - Dispose
Let me give you the real meaning of these three words. Take refers to the idea that nature provides us with all the resources we need (which it does), and we don’t have to think about these resources ever running out. Oil has been one of our favorite subjects for close to 50 years, but there we have an alternative. Is there an alternative to water? How about air? Are you familiar with the problem tied to the depletion of sand? Yes, sand. Sand is used for building materials and is a bulwark against flooding. So, we use more and rising ocean levels means we have less.
Does nature charge us for using what it provides? Well, yes it does. The problem is that these costs are not transactional, so we have difficulties in comprehending them. If we don’t understand something, we close our eyes and hope it just goes away. Or maybe we play the game that small kids play. If you hold your hands over your eyes and can’t see the people, they don’t see you either. Unfortunately, we adults have come up with our own version of that game, and it also has everything to do with denial.
In 18th Century Britain, there was a common attitude that the land that was not being exploited was considered a waste, and it was called wasteland. Unfortunately, cultural habits die hard, and there are plenty of examples today of that attitude still alive and well.
So, what are we making with these unlimited resources? Well, we use it to produce things. This process is nothing new, and there is of course nothing inherently bad in these actions. The problem starts when we produce things that bring no value. If we build things that people don’t want or need, that is a waste. Here, we do an excellent job, and this is all tied to a system where there are no costs to be borne for producing waste, and our measurement of progress is tied to producing more.
If the resources are the input and the production is the transformation, what is the output? If we don’t need that produced good anymore, we just throw it away. It doesn’t matter whether it can be used for something else, or maybe somebody else could use it. Our system wasn’t built for these options to be covered in a seamless manner. The trash can is the effortless option. What happens afterward? Well, we don’t know and care even less.
All three steps, take, make and dispose contribute to the rise of carbon dioxide, which is our climate change smoking gun. If the problem was “only” the climate... Our condition also includes our personal consumption of 260 grams of microplastic a year, the extinction rate of all insects, not just bees, at a 2,5% yearly pace, not to mention our penchant to export our waste to countries that feel they cannot forgo of the cash it brings...just to name a few.
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