Tuesday, April 6, 2010

stuff

1% of what is bought is still in use 6 months later. (Nathan George on consumerism)

wow...huh??

5 comments:

Christy said...

WOW!!!

Renee said...

I wanted to mention this to you. When we were waiting for our I-600 approval (I know you're just waiting for your I-600a but I'm sure it's the same) ours was taking longer than it should so our social worker gave us the email address of the office that is in charge of it. They weren't necessarily helpful (they just said that it was being processed) but it was actually approved within a couple of days. I do think the email brought our case to their attention. Anyway, since it is taking longer than the normal time you might consider asking your social worker if she has any suggestions. I'm praying!

Megan said...

So I'm trying to figure out the 1% thing. It doesn't seem quite right to be so low. I mean, I guess if you consider groceries, then they are something that should not still be in use 6 months later, and that is what most of us spend money on. And like kids shoes they grow out of. But purchases like a TV or sofa or crayons or a car, seem like they's still be in use. So are we that wasteful or is it that most purchases (groceries) are done with in 6 months anyway? Not that I'm trying to say we are not wasteful, because I know we are. Just seems like the statistic is a little drastic sounding.

Is there anything I can purchase to make a baby come out? I mean, I won't need that 6 months from now, but I think I'd be willing to spend some money on that waste right about now...

Courtney said...

megan - i did a bit of research and the statistic is from this article:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/pdfs/annie_leonard_footnoted_script.pdf

which was a very interesting read...

here's a couple lines from it:
"only 1 percent of the total North American materials flow end up in, and is still being used within products 6 months after their sale."

"this is not saying that 99 percent of the stuff we buy is trashed. Think beyond your household to the upstream waste created in the extraction, production, packaging, transportation and selling of the stuff you bought."

"the average US person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago."

it is a drastic statistic.
but hopefully something to get people to think.

my desire for spreading this statistic would be for people to not only care about being "wasteful" but to use their money for His glory...and not just for "stuff"...

we ARE so wasteful! just look at all the stuff in my basement people have dropped of to sell at the yard sale!

Tammy said...

this is huge...and it comes down to our desires being so transient. makes you think