conserving natural resources and the things made from them

8/8/2019 Conserving Natural Resources and the Things Made From Them

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Preserving Earth, Its Natural Resources

and the Things Made from Them

As far as we know, there is not another planet in our universe that can do whatEarth is able to do, namely, support oxygen breathing, carbon-based organisms that

require potable water for survival. Since human beings are such organisms, we

need to accept that there arent any viable alternatives to making life on Earth

work. Therefore, every human being must be made to understand, as early in their

lives as possible, that Earths natural resources and all things made from natural

resources are precious and must be preserved because the supply of nonrenewable

natural resources upon which humans rely for survival is limited to what exists on

and within planet Earth, and when theyre used up, were done. Of course,

humanity may never have to worry about that eventuality, because Earths capacity

for absorbing the pollution humans are creating may be exhausted first, and well

have already expired from suffocation due to Earths unbreathable air or from ourinability to tolerate the increasing heat caused by global warming.

Due to ignorance or eternal optimism, most people dismiss these doomsday

scenarios as scare tactics, because none of the predictions indicate that any of these

things are likely to happen today or tommorow or next year or during their

lifetime, and thats all most of us are concerned about. On the other hand, it is

ingrained in our nature to propogate our genes in order to insure our species

immortality, so shouldnt each of us be concerned about protecting the well being

of our own future generations? Unless we insure, as much as possible, that Earths

living environment will support them, why should we bring more children into this

world and force them to face an unpleasant existence of making do with limitedresources while trying to survive in an ever more toxic environment?

Whats the alternative? Convince all humans alive today that limiting their

consumption of natural resources will insure that some is left for generations to

come. Why not limit ourselves to consuming only that which is adequate to

sustain a universally accepted standard of living and do everything we can to

extend the useful life of all the durable products made from natural resources weuse to make life easier? Diminishing the need for new products reduces the

depletion of natural resources. Furthermore, since Earths ability to absorb

pollution is finite, why arent humans doing everything they can to reduce the

amount of environmental pollution they create as a byproduct of their efforts to

maintain a satisfactory lifestyle? As explained previously, too much


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environmental pollution will eventually overwhelm Earths ability to absorb it, andwhen that happens, humanitys survival will become problematic.

In order to get everyone to pay attention to these matters, a movement must be

started that enlists people into a worldwide organization which is commited to

encouraging everyone to willingly limit their consumption of natural resources andthe products made from natural resources to that which is adequate to sustain a

universally accepted standard of living. Unfortunately, living by example is only

somewhat effective in influencing others to do likewise. Consequently, it is also

necessary to be proactive in encouraging everyone with whom you have influenceto follow your example.

Imagine how much of a reduction in the depletion Earths natural resources and the

pollution of Earths living environment would result if everyone willingly limited

the clothing they own to the amount needed to sustain a universally accepted

standard of living, and they limited the other accoutrements of their lifestyle to onenon-polluting, energy-efficient dwelling, one non-polluting, energy-efficient mode

of transportation and one each of the various non-polluting, energy-efficient

implements needed to accomplish the various activities associated with

maintaining one's household as well as their physical well being and productivity.

Cohabitation by multiple individuals within one dwelling should also be

encouraged in order to further reduce consumption of natural resources and theproducts made from natural resources.

In order to minimize the amount of clothing consumed by each individual, there

should also be a worldwide expectation that everyone consume only nutritious

food in the amounts limited to that which is needed to maintain their body in its

optimum functional condition and that they exercise their body to the extent

needed to maintain muscle and bone functionality as well as physical stability.

Adherence to these expectations are intended to minimize a persons need to

replace clothing due to significant changes in ones physique, but since a person's

body grows and shrinks with age and activity and there are maladies that affect a

person's physique, some method for dealing with these kinds of changes would

have to be implemented so individuals could adjust their wardrobe to

accommodate physique changes without having to acquire new garments.

One option is to have alterations made, and there are plenty of people who are able

to do that kind of work, but it takes time, and in todays social environment, time is

of the essense. Furthermore, for some, continuing to wear something theyve

owned for a while is distasteful, particularly if fashions have changed. And then


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there are those who are affluent enough to purchase new clothing just because theycan and shopping is what they do to pass the time.

Think how much fewer natural resources and the products made from natural

resources would be consumed if people with extra money refrained from spending

it on durable goods they dont need to sustain themselves comfortably.Extravagance is self serving and irresponsible, and it results in needless reduction

of available natural resources. On the other hand, variety is the spice of life.

Therefore, in order to enable people to attain variety and to stimulate their

willingness to comply with the expectation that durable goods be kept in use until

they are worn to the point they cant be restored for a reasonable cost, there should

be a way people can exchange things when they desire a change and be able to

obtain an item that would have been restored to like-new condition. Unfortunately,

there is no organization presently in existence that provides that kind of service.

Therefore it would be necessary for interprising entrepreneurs to establishexchange stores in delineated areas all around the world, then stock their stores

with every kind of durable good that consumers in their area regularly purchase. In

the beginning most products would likely have to be bought new, but some owners

may choose to invite investors to contribute refurbishable items and/or money in

return for shares of stock in the enterprise. The objective is to build an inventory

of goods that people would be able to acquire by exchanging a used item they

already own for the same kind of item that is either brand new or has been restoredto brand new condition.

The exchange store concept is simple. When someone wishes to replacesomething they already own with a similar item thats in better condition or is

more functionally effective or is simply different from the item being replaced,

they would bring the item to the exchange store and have exchange store personnel

evaluate the condition of item and estimate the cost of the repairs, part replacement

and sanitation that would be required to restore it to like-new condition. The

person wishing to make the exchange would then select the item they want as a

replacement and they would be charged the estimated cost to recondition the itemthey brought in plus a handling fee.

If a person brings in an item to be exchanged and the exchange has noreconditioned item that is comparable to the item the person wants to exchange, the

person can opt to exchange their item for a replacement that is brand new provided

they are willing to pay the new item price less the estimated as is value of the

item being exchanged. If that cost is too much, then the alternative is to have the

item they brought in reconditioned instead of exchanging it, while the cost to the


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customer will be less, the customer will have to do without the item for the lengthof time required to recondition it.

To summarize, the durable product exchange system provides people with a way to

honor the expectation that they not discard any durable item they own until it has

no remaining usability. If an item with remaining usability breaks, it must be fixedand used until it wears out, then it must recycled so its reusable materials can be

claimed and put to another use, or it must be exchanged for a replacement as

discussed previously. If a product is packaged in some sort of durable container,

the container must be recycled, and in order to insure that such containers are

recycled rather than discarded, a person will be required to return the empty

container for any perishable product theyve previously used up before they will be

allowed to purchase a replacement. If the product in a recyclable container is non-

perishable like motor oil, then the returned container must contain the used product

being replaced. Obviously, for these kinds of recycling requirements to work, thedurable product exchange would also have to serve as the collector and processor

of recyclable materials. In addition, there would need to be verifiable trail of

documentation which proves that consumers and the exchange stores are incompliance with these expectations.

Another aspect of conserving natural resources and minimizing pollution created

by human activities involves the need to continuously improve the performance of

durable products that require an external energy source. Since manufacturers are

expected to constantly improve the durability, energy efficiency and effectiveness

of the motorized products they make, consumers are constantly faced with thedilemma of deciding whether to keep using a product they already own that is less

efficient, effective and/or durable or trade it in for an improved version. The

solution is to require manufacturers to make only one version of each product and

if that product has replaceable parts, to design the product so that all parts involved

in making the product more efficient and/or effective can be replaced with parts

that produce improvements in that product's efficiency and effectiveness without

having to reconstruct the whole product. This will allow less durable, less efficient

and/or less effective parts of a product to be upgraded while enabling the product

itself to remain in service indefinitely thereby extending its useful life and reducing

the consumption of natural resources which would otherwise be consumed duringthe manufacture of new whole product replacements neccesitated by advances in

efficiency and effectiveness.

Reducing the need to produce new products will also reduce consumption of fuel

used during the harvesting, transporting and converting of natural resources into

components and/or end products, and it will reduce the consumption of fuel used to


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distribute these manufactured items to their various destinations. Secondarily,

reductions in fuel consumption will reduce the volume of hazardous residues being

produced by fuel combustion as well as the expenditure of non-renewable

resources used to capture and/or eliminate these residues and/or counteract the

effect these residues have on the health and well being of human beings and/or

Earth's ecology. Furthermore, when new products are made from materials that are

derivatives of oil and gas, like, for example, plastics and synthetic cloth, not only

are the aforementioned reductions realized when fewer new products are produced,

the hazardous residues from the processes used to manufacture these syntheticmaterials will also be reduced.

Obviously, all these proposed changes are radical departures from the way things

are done today in the areas of the world where people can afford to be extravagent.

So what would happen if such requirements were imposed worldwide? Economies

would become less driven by consumerism and by the marketing/advertisingindustry whose business it is to stimulate and encourage consumerism. Replacing

retail outlets with all-emcompassing exchange stores as described previously

would eliminate the need for advertising and eliminating the infinite variety in

products produced would eliminate consumerism. Manufacturers would no longer

produce new products except as replacements for existing products that can no

longer be upgraded with improved parts which enable them to continue operating

as effectively and efficiently as a new product would. Consequently, the purpose

that durable goods satisfy in life would be to accomplish lifes necessary tasks in

the most effective way possible while minimizing the amount of natural resources

consumed and the waste produced during their creation as well as throughout theiruseful life. All that that would be left to do would be to change the way Earths

natural resources are owned and distributed so that all Earths human population

has what they need to sustain their well-being and viability, but thats a subject

already addressed in the essay entitled Sharing Earth and Its Resources SoEveryone Benefits Equally.

conserving natural resources and the things made from them

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