The Environment
When I suggested I could write about an environmental issue, I did not know what I was getting into. I am not an expert on environment nor do I have a degree on anything related, but I am a true believer in the importance of taking care of our mother nature. For that, I feel like I can try to write something about it and try to influence people, most of all conscious people, to change their behavior and think about the impact that human beings are inflicting on our planet. As I live my daily life I try to make decisions based on how can I reduce my impact on earth.
During the first half of the past century, the industrial revolution started making its way into influencing a new way of doing things; new products started to appear everyday and manufacturing helped to promote the commercialization of new stuff. During the big recession and following WWII, people all around the world suffered from scarcity. People had to truly fight or work very hard to get the
The Throw Away Society We Live In
most essential things, like food and clothing, so I think people used to value their stuff, which at that time was produced to last a lifetime. But after WWII, economies all around the world had to thrive in some way, the solution: over-production and over-consumption. Companies started to design products to last or to be used for shorter periods of time. The 1960's was the perfect time to promote a new way of life based on convenience, and during that time disposables or so called “throw aways” made their way into our lives. Everything became mostly plastic and disposable; diapers, plates, cups, forks, cans, bags, pouches, you name it. Sadly, we all ride along with this convenient life and nowadays almost everything is disposable, even TV sets, computers and cell phones.
It is time for us as a society to reconsider and to go back to the basics. Of course, big corporations won´t make this change by themselves because their main interests are profit, cost reduction and market share. This is where we as consumers have to make a statement and request better more sustainable products that have a positive impact on our lives and our planet. If we, the consumers, keep on buying disposable things, then it is our fault when our planet becomes a big landfill.
Karina Ruiz is a regular person who is passionate about environment conservation. Her way of thinking has influenced her lifestyle so she is a vegetarian, loves Reggae Music, has a hippie heart and promotes conciousness among people. Right now as a stay at home mom, she is discovering that she can do more things to improve her family´s and our planet´s health, like eating healthier, organic, not processed and local food.
byKarina Ruiz