Guest Post – Convenience is a Luxury
The following is a guest post by Linda Anderson, author of the blog, Citizen Green. Linda recently joined the Show Your Plastic Trash Challenge. Here’s her tally. Inspired by Laura Zilverberg’s post, Waste Is A Luxury, Linda explains that convenience is also a luxury.
Thirty years ago I lived in Brazil and experienced the same sort of culture shock that Laura Zilverberg spoke of in her guest post on FPF, May 13. My wake up moment came when our maid was looking for a cleaning rag in the rag bag. Yes we had a maid, it was expected of the affluent. At 25 years old, I did not even know I was affluent. Julia, the maid, found a discarded manʼs shirt in the rag bag. I had put it there to be a rag, but only after I cut the buttons off to save for sewing repairs. I did not cut the threads of the buttons, I cut the fabric so that everywhere there had been a button, there was a little diamond shaped hole. Julia wanted the shirt, with holes, for her father.
She took the shirt home and somehow repaired it into a perfectly good shirt. I was so ashamed at how wasteful I had been. Also, I was surprised at how the poor people used every container that I threw away. Plastic butter tubs or any other container went to waste in the trash. People picked it out and took it home. At the market, there were no plastic bags (there are now). The veggies that you bought were wrapped in newspaper and stuffed in your reusable shopping bag. That year in Brazil taught me a lot about life in the US.
Laura said “Luxury is a waste.” How true! I would like to add that convenience is a luxury which is a waste. As I look for ways to cut back plastic waste and as I write about it in my own blog, I see that most of it is all about convenience. I have decided that convenience and being green do not coexist well.
In the US, we are all about convenience. That is why we have so many disposable products – like razors, lighters, containers, That is why we have so much packaging – like individually packaged servings of snacks. That is why we have so much fast food. Everything must be convenient so it can be fast. To become greener, we must take the time to live without so many conveniences. They are a shortcut to what? More time that we cram more work or activities into? More money so we can buy more conveniences?
Itʼs not worth it when all that waste goes to the landfill or litters our oceans.
@Beany, I was cracking up imagining your husband with his cup of Bud and then I remembered that that's EXACTLY what you are supposed to drink during physical exercise. It's in all the running manuals. I don't know how I could have forgotten this.
Oh, and my time was actually 6 hours and 10 minutes, which I can confess after hearing what your time was.
Oh, and I also forgot to mention that while the second half of the marathon was nearly all walking, spontaneous bouts of running would occur every time there was a photo op. Can't imagine why.
🙂
My sisters were with me and put me in a bathtub full of ice immediately afterwards. It sucked, but really, really helped. And so did the bottle of champagne I had in there with me. My sister also massaged my legs. These techniques worked so well, that I danced all night at the celebration party later that evening.
Okay, these comments have nothing whatsoever to do with Linda's awesome post. Perhaps we should continue this conversation via email, lest other readers become annoyed.
@Beany! How was your marathon? I laughed at your comment. You're absolutely right. We are so brainwashed to drink, drink, drink, and yet most of us go so slowly we don't really need that much liquid unless it's super hot out. I don't remember how much I drank during my marathon (which I completed in 6 freakin' hours because it was so hot!) because I hadn't started noticing my plastic consumption then. I do know that I drank from a plastic sports bottle back then. But I completed the next half marathon with my stainless steel Klean Kanteen, and I don't believe I needed to refill it during the race. And by "race," I of course mean happy walk with occasional bouts of skipping. Okay, there was running too. But not a lot after the first 4 miles.