Trying to become more environmentally friendly is not straightforward. I have concluded that if I were to live in a self supporting and sustaining community that grew all its own food, made fabric and clothing from fibres that were home grown, relied on home remedies, did not access western fuel sources and used horse and cart for transport then my lifestyle choices would have far less of a detrimental effect on the environment. There are communities like this in our world. Hunter gatherer communities with little outside contact do exist. There are also religious communities like the Amish that shun modern technology and embrace a simple, self sufficient life. But, I am not in these communities so how do I work through the complexity of choice in order to be kinder to this world and its inhabitants? Complex Choices I saw an article recently which pretty much said that plastic isn't that bad because the alternatives also have environmental implications. The argument was... ...that if you choose an alternative material from plastic, it is bound, somewhere along the line, to have a detrimental effect on the environment. Take plastic shopping bags for instance. We know that they are bad, they are produced from oil and aren't biodegradable and so take up to 1000 years to decompose. So cotton would be a good, more permanent choice to use for shopping wouldn't it? Think again. Yes, cotton is more sustainable (can easily be grown again) and it decomposes quickly when it is thrown away because it is a natural fibre. BUT the cotton industry uses 25% of all the world's pesticides. It needs huge amounts of water. Many of the people working in it work in terrible conditions. The choice is becoming less easy isn't it? What about paper? It still uses a lot of fossil fuel in manufacture. Or organic Fairtrade cotton? Better, but still uses a lot of water and fossil fuels to ship to the UK. The choice is becoming more difficult with each new material looked at.
My Conclusion Is that there very often isn't a clear cut choice and we often have to choose between the lesser of two evils. Take the bag example. Yes, all the materials mentioned above have an impact on the environment. Paper isn't really viable for a shopping bag because it won't last long and will need replacing constantly. Cotton is not an eco friendly material but organic Fairtrade cotton is miles better than the stuff made using pesticides and a cotton bag will last much longer than paper. Plastic lasts such a long time and is clogging up our earth. It can only be recycled twice at the most and then it will just sit there and mount up and it is polluting our seas terribly. Given that, I intend to avoid plastic if at all possible. When it comes to the bag choice above then the least 'evil' material in my opinion is Fairtrade organic cotton. If you really want to push the boat out, then go for a locally sourced fabric......in the UK that would be British Wool, and that would be much more environmentally friendly.
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AuthorMy name is Pauline Silverwood. I live in the UK and have decided to look at my lifestyle and see how I can reduce my impact on the planet and its human and other inhabitants. ArchivesCategories |