Environmental Friend or Foe
Last night's lecture was about the environment and our responsibility as future architects to protect the planet and the future by taking responsibility for our choice in construction materials, etc.
I have a pet peeve about being lectured on the environment. Frankly, I don't think there is enough proof/support to know what the effects of one decision over another will be for our children and our children's children and.... "Someone please think of the children!"
Many environmentally friendly intentions have backfired. There are always unknowns. Among the unknowns is will someone five years from now be able to deal with the potential problem we've created? Of course you can't rely on this indefinitely but is it that unreasonable to think that this generations garbage is the next generations treasure?
The prof mentioned a nightmare he has of future generations mining plastics from the bottom of our landfills. Couldn't this be a good idea? Maybe someone will find a way to refine/recycle "raw plastic" making it worthy of mining.
The other pill I couldn't quite swallow was that Canadians use 350L/day/person versus the European 40L/day/person. And on top of that that not leaving your tap running when brushing your teeth (do people do that?) is the solution. Even if the statistic is true... we got a whole lot of water and it's not like it disappears. Isn't that grade 2 science? Water falls from the sky, is absorbed into the ground, finds its way to a body of water, evaporates, forms clouds, falls from the sky. I still have the somewhat disturbing diagram stuck in my mind which included a deer or something relieving itself to continue the cycle after drinking from the lake. Yes, water consumption is wasteful in the energy/byproducts of its purification but is this really significant?
The difference between Canadians and Europeans is not that they are more environmentally aware but that we got more water per person than we know what to do with so suburbs are filled with swimming pools, and lawns that "NEED" to be watered (lawn rant to come another time), and dishwashers, etc. I don't think we waste water because we have those things. We have those things because we've got water to waste. I do see the value in dividing potable and non-potable sources and uses. I don't need to be able to drink the water in my toilet (though you may have to introduce dog safety devices) or the water I use to wash the floors, or the car, or whatever else. I only need to be able to drink the water I drink. But this is more of an economic issue. Water falls from the sky onto my property. Why do I pay the city to give me water and to get rid of the water I get for free?
And then there is the paper and wood issue. Waste, waste, waste. There is a poster in the bathroom at school that says something along the lines that it requires an entire tree to make a roll of toilet paper. I thought they were trying to make me feel bad for using toilet paper. Sorry, that is not going to be removed from my habits. I didn't see the fine print that the point is to buy recycled t.p. They don't point out that sometimes it can be more environmentally detrimental to recycle. More energy is wasted in the recycling process than in the original processing. Besides, they farm trees like they farm potatoes. Does anybody ever rally and tie themselves to a potato?
It's not as clear cut (pun intended) as it is usually made out to be.
There was the one case where a type of plastic was no longer being recycled and the citizens revolted that the city was not doing its part and didn't care about the environment. They were shipping the plastics to CHINA! Transporting truckloads of plastic half way around the world cannot be good for the environment.
I'm not against being conscientious of the decisions you make and the impact it might have but you can't take responsibility for the unknowable. You don't really know the impact most of your decisions will have. Only time will tell. Of course there is no need to be stupid when you can avoid it.
I have a pet peeve about being lectured on the environment. Frankly, I don't think there is enough proof/support to know what the effects of one decision over another will be for our children and our children's children and.... "Someone please think of the children!"
Many environmentally friendly intentions have backfired. There are always unknowns. Among the unknowns is will someone five years from now be able to deal with the potential problem we've created? Of course you can't rely on this indefinitely but is it that unreasonable to think that this generations garbage is the next generations treasure?
The prof mentioned a nightmare he has of future generations mining plastics from the bottom of our landfills. Couldn't this be a good idea? Maybe someone will find a way to refine/recycle "raw plastic" making it worthy of mining.
The other pill I couldn't quite swallow was that Canadians use 350L/day/person versus the European 40L/day/person. And on top of that that not leaving your tap running when brushing your teeth (do people do that?) is the solution. Even if the statistic is true... we got a whole lot of water and it's not like it disappears. Isn't that grade 2 science? Water falls from the sky, is absorbed into the ground, finds its way to a body of water, evaporates, forms clouds, falls from the sky. I still have the somewhat disturbing diagram stuck in my mind which included a deer or something relieving itself to continue the cycle after drinking from the lake. Yes, water consumption is wasteful in the energy/byproducts of its purification but is this really significant?
The difference between Canadians and Europeans is not that they are more environmentally aware but that we got more water per person than we know what to do with so suburbs are filled with swimming pools, and lawns that "NEED" to be watered (lawn rant to come another time), and dishwashers, etc. I don't think we waste water because we have those things. We have those things because we've got water to waste. I do see the value in dividing potable and non-potable sources and uses. I don't need to be able to drink the water in my toilet (though you may have to introduce dog safety devices) or the water I use to wash the floors, or the car, or whatever else. I only need to be able to drink the water I drink. But this is more of an economic issue. Water falls from the sky onto my property. Why do I pay the city to give me water and to get rid of the water I get for free?
And then there is the paper and wood issue. Waste, waste, waste. There is a poster in the bathroom at school that says something along the lines that it requires an entire tree to make a roll of toilet paper. I thought they were trying to make me feel bad for using toilet paper. Sorry, that is not going to be removed from my habits. I didn't see the fine print that the point is to buy recycled t.p. They don't point out that sometimes it can be more environmentally detrimental to recycle. More energy is wasted in the recycling process than in the original processing. Besides, they farm trees like they farm potatoes. Does anybody ever rally and tie themselves to a potato?
It's not as clear cut (pun intended) as it is usually made out to be.
There was the one case where a type of plastic was no longer being recycled and the citizens revolted that the city was not doing its part and didn't care about the environment. They were shipping the plastics to CHINA! Transporting truckloads of plastic half way around the world cannot be good for the environment.
I'm not against being conscientious of the decisions you make and the impact it might have but you can't take responsibility for the unknowable. You don't really know the impact most of your decisions will have. Only time will tell. Of course there is no need to be stupid when you can avoid it.
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