Facts, History and Diapers

I’ve always loved facts. Here are a few for you.

• Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour.
• Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable.
• The US population discards each year 16,000,000,000 diapers, 1,600,000,000 pens, 2,000,000,000 razor blades, 220,000,000 car tires, and enough aluminum to rebuild the US commercial air fleet four times over.

The roots of my raising were on the plains of Wyoming. In this beautiful place we understood the value of reusing, reducing and recycling.

Farmers embraced conservation techniques, and my dad? Well, he always saved a little bit of lots of stuff just in case he needed it for a project (he often did).

Life was less disposable then. Scrap lumber was saved and used to create things like a workshop bench, wall framing or any of a number of projects.

Television repairs were always considered before purchasing a new set. Cars often received a rebuilt engine before we said they were unusable.

Yet there were very few who I would classify as environmentalists in the same way we do today.

It’s true, neighbors cared about the land because the land helped them provide for their family. They cared about fixing instead of replacing because it made economic sense. They cared about recycling because there was money to be made. They cared about reusing because it made no sense to waste resources.

What I am getting at is the reasons I saw then for encouraging less waste had more to do with economics than it did about saving the planet. Perhaps that’s because the cost of raising a family was a prime consideration and very few considered the state of the planet.

I love the fact that post-consumer paper can be repurposed. I am glad that recycling has allowed a smaller burden on landfills. I’m pleased that tree planting is a priority especially in places where clear cutting for lumber has taken place.

Would you find it strange that there may be a large number of people who don’t have a strong opinion on climate change who still reuse, reduce and recycle because it simply makes good financial sense?

These individuals may not base their political ties on environmental issues. In fact their political leanings may be all over the map.

Is it so hard to believe that ‘Less Expensive Living’ is not a political issue? It doesn’t have to be a matter of smug pride. It doesn’t have to alienate.

So, whether you consider yourself “green” or simply a gifted manager of personal resources you are welcome here. I don’t present this as a “green” site, but many of the outcomes of “green” living fall in line with less expense.

Oh, and on a little related topic – on our facebook group page we recently discussed the idea of cloth diapers. You may have noticed in the facts above that 16 billion (some say 18 billion) disposable diapers make their way to landfills each year. This wasn’t true a few decades ago. If you’d like more information about cloth diaper alternatives check this page.  If you’d like to know how to make your own cloth diapers check here.

If you’re not a part of our facebook group click here and join.

Thanks for dropping by.