Needs and Desires

It being the holidays and all, I've been reminded about how much "stuff" people buy. Sure, it's nice to have a new t.v. once in a while or a new pair of shoes. It's a nice feeling. But, in reality, most of this "stuff" at one point or another turns into waste. As I walked around Boston yesterday, I couldn't help but be amazed at the swarms of people literally running from store to store to buy somebody the latest iPhone or the new Jordans or this or that. Do we really need all of this stuff? Or do the constant reminders of a media-based society obsessed with Gizelle and Tom just make us think we do? There's obviously no straight answer to this, but I'm going to try anyway.

The majority of my posts have been related to energy so far. You may think this is unrelated, but in my mind it's very closely related. Let me explain...

I just finished re-reading Mitch Albom's Tuesday's With Morrie. It reminded me about how often people, in this country at least, confuse the things they really need with the things they want. Being in Egypt for six weeks last summer was an eye opening experience, and I realized how much we really do take for granted in this country. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we need to go back to the stone age here. People work very hard in this country and deserve to spend their money however they please. But, at the same time, its difficult to deal with the fact that a substantial percentage of the world's population is struggling to find food or clean water from day to day, yet millions, if not billions, of tons of waste are disposed of in America alone each year.

In my opinion, I believe a lot of people in this country value materialistic things more than they do the other parts of life. One can have all of the nicest things in the world, but I don't think anyone will be truly happy unless they value the un-measureable qualities of life like family, health, self-confidence, and having a basic appreciation for the well-being of others and not just yourself.

I'm sure a lot of people would tell me, "It's not that simple". But I think it really is.

The confusion of things we need with things we desire also lead to an enormous amount of material waste that, at the present time, primarily gets deposited in landfills. Landfills are one of the largest emitters of GHG's and until we redevelop how we manufacture, re-use, and recycle products to eliminate waste, I believe this confusion has a direct impact on the environment. Let's be honest, the human population has an unbelievable demand for energy of all kinds. And, as our population continues to grow, the amount of stuff we buy will only increase.

All in all, I think a primary cause of a lot of this is because many people don't think and act with a "global" perspective in mind. Your actions will always have consequences. Instead of pushing them aside for someone else to deal with, we will all be better off if we deal with them ourselves.