[Sqg-program] FW: slow down and Waste makes haste

Tue, 19 Aug 2003 10:03:38 -0400

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Good Article . Worth a read. Also related is "The Resource Conservation
Challenge" that EPA announced a year ago. Make the time, check out the =
web
site with the details (www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/conserve/index.htm). =
Glen
=20
=20
=20
=20
 perspective

Waste makes haste
<http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E75%257E1545114,00.html> =

David Wann
Sunday, August 03, 2003 - Speed is irrelevant if you're traveling in the
wrong direction.=20

- Mohandas Gandhi

I had an unsettling thought the other day as I wrestled, scissors in =
hand,
with the fortress-like plastic packaging around a new electric razor. I
wondered if anyone had accidentally taken his own life trying to unwrap =
a
consumer item like this one. If a person's flustered grip on the package
slipped, I thought, those sharp scissors could plunge into vital organs.
Cause of death: thick, stubborn packaging.

I knew the packaging was as much for the manufacturers' and retailers'
benefits as mine, and in a way, I resented that. They were making the =
money,
I was spending the time - first the work-time to buy the expensive =
razor,
then the fluster-time to penetrate its package.

I'd bought the electric unit because I was tired of buying and throwing =
out
blades. I hoped to do less damage to my checking account and to the
environment with the electric razor, but considering all the electricity =
the
razor would use and all the energy that had gone into its manufacture, I
wasn't completely certain.

<http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper36/wann.jpg> =09
=09
David Wann is co-author of the best-selling 'Affluenza: The =
All-Consuming
Epidemic' (Berrett-Koehler). =09

I thought about the man who got me into this shaving jam to begin with: =
King
Gillette, who at the end of the 19th century pondered what sort of =
business
he should launch. Why not sell an essential but flawed product, he =
reasoned,
that would be thrown away after a few uses, providing a steady stream of
profits? In a sense, Gillette and people like him were responsible not =
only
for the disposable razor blade but also for the calculated, costly,
disposable culture we're tangled up in.

To obtain the "convenience" of those throwaway blades, how many hours do =
we
spend prowling supermarket aisles in search of new cartridges? How much
"hidden" time do we spend in the car and at work? And, of course, it's =
not
just razor blades but computer equipment, frozen dinners, paper towels, =
tape
dispensers, batteries, even cars and houses, all of which typically have
short and shoddy lifetimes.

Aren't we hurrying partly to overcome the hidden costs of these =
disposable,
poorly designed products?

Take computers. They're incredibly fast, but their speed is sometimes a
liability. For example, home computers not only enable workers to extend =
the
workday into their personal lives, they also enable us to shop 'til we =
drop
in the privacy of our own homes.

Unless we choose the often-unavailable option of ground delivery, our
Internet orders will be sent airmail, five times as energy-intensive as
delivery by truck. When Amazon.com pledged to deliver copies of "Harry =
Potter
and the Goblet of Fire" on the book's publication date, a squadron of
airplanes distributed 250,000 packages to readers anxiously sitting by =
their
mail chutes.

Computers have other hidden costs, which we pay for by working longer =
and
longer hours. To take advantage of the computer's racehorse speed, we =
pamper
it with the latest software, which takes time to download. We wait for =
it to
boot up, and we wait as it steeplechases to a desired web page. We =
"defrag"
it, upgrade it, forgive its inopportune crashes that leave us helpless, =
and
like a protective, anxious mother, we shelter it from viruses. These are =
some
of the hidden time costs.

Then there are the many hidden ecological costs, well explained by Jim =
Fisher
in a Web article, "Poison PCs": "Along with the lead in its cathode ray =
tubes
and circuit boards," he writes, "my computer was loaded with chemicals =
that
have documented risks to public health and the environment: There was =
cadmium
in its semiconductors, mercury in its switches and position sensors, =
chromium
in its steel housing, brominated flame retardants in its circuit boards,
nickel, lithium, cadmium and other metals in its batteries. All that was
missing was a 55-gallon drum."

It's not likely computers will ever give way to index cards and =
typewriter
ribbons again, but since they contain 700 different materials, computers =
must
be designed for effortless recycling. And since they require so much =
energy
to manufacture, our product strategy needs to change from obsolescence =
to
durability.

The faster we produce ...

As I fought with the electric razor's packaging, I wondered, has the
industrialized, conveyor-belt pace that creates "planned obsolescence" =
become
embedded in our daily routines? In effect, does waste make haste, which =
then
creates ever more waste in a vicious, accelerating cycle? If so, how do =
we
break the cycle?

To begin with, we need to acknowledge - as individuals and as a culture =
-
that the best things in life really aren't things. The best things are =
bonds
with people, contact with nature, and health - qualities that don't =
require
us to be in a hurry.

To give ourselves time for these priceless forms of wealth, we need to =
reduce
our junk intake, buying fewer things but better things. More durable and
environmentally friendly things. We need to slow down to the speed of
quality, rather than accelerating to the speed of quantity.

Make no mistake; This will require a change of historic proportions. =
There's
good evidence that the high-speed chase we're in began centuries before =
the
invention of the disposable razor blade, in the blacksmith shops, =
tanneries
and sawmills where the Industrial Revolution was born. When tinkerers =
began
perfecting technologies that could produce more goods than were =
necessary,
they felt compelled to persuade buyers to consume the greatest number of
products in the shortest period of time.

In the 20th century, Henry Ford made speed an industrial requirement =
when he
borrowed the idea of the assembly line from Chicago slaughterhouses to
accelerate automobile output. The same techniques that he perfected for =
the
car were soon adapted to the mass-production of houses. Developers like
William Levitt (who built Levittown in the late 1940s) erected 30 houses =
a
day by dividing the construction process into 27 steps. The houses were =
built
at remarkable speed, and when the dust settled and the first families =
moved
in, an army of salesmen were there to greet them.

What postwar economists loved about the accelerated pace of house
construction was that each new home was a ready market for stuff.

Marketing analyst Victor Lebow wrote in 1950, "Our enormously productive
economy demands that that we make consumption a way of life, that we =
convert
the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual
satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption ... . We need things
consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an =
ever-increasing
rate."

Manufacturers, smelling spoils, ramped up the speed of their conveyors. =
As
Alvin and Heidi Toffler point out in "Creating a New Civilization": "The
interval between desire and gratification is quickly approaching =
simultaneity
as consumers come to expect a greater array of novel products and =
services at
near breakneck speed."

Speed kills

The problem is that speed kills. When production systems are in a hurry, =
care
falls by the wayside and mountains of waste are created. To give just =
one
example among many, production capacity and consumer demand have =
combined to
deplete about one-fourth of the world's fisheries, according to the =
World
Resources Institute, with another 44 percent currently being fished at =
the
biological limit.

Sonar technology tracks large schools of fish; trawling nets - the =
bulldozers
of the ocean floor - gather them in, and refrigerated processing ships =
bring
them back to market. In the process, a third of the global catch (30 =
million
tons a year) is killed and tossed overboard because it's unmarketable.

Much of that fish catch is fed to America's 60 million cats, and the =
beat
goes on.

The pace of industry strikes every inch of the globe, dicing habitats =
into
fragments and smothering them under mine tailings, striped-shorted =
tourists,
logging slash and pavement.

Even the essential nutrients of life - nitrogen, sulfur, carbon and
phosphorus - have become hyperactive, far surpassing the natural cycle =
rates
that remained constant for eons. An overdose of nitrogen causes rain to =
be
acid and lakes to become clogged with algae. Too much carbon, too fast, =
and
the world's glaciers begin to melt.

In 1991, hikers in the Alps came upon a startling time capsule: an =
intact
human mummy protruding from a melting glacier. Apparently trapped in a
snowstorm more than 5,000 years ago, he returned with a symbolic message =
for
us, notes environmentalist Lester Brown: The Earth is getting warmer,
quickly.

The faster we consume ...

The message we get every day is hurry up and consume. But many =
scientists now
agree that over-consumption is the world's most serious environmental =
threat,
because for every product we consume, an average of 20 times its weight =
in
raw materials was consumed to make it. The raw materials that go into a
gadget or article of clothing may have disrupted biological habitats at =
the
mine site, farm field, or chemical plant. Then, product manufacture,
distribution, advertising, and packaging take their toll. At the end of =
the
line, our use of the product may contribute further impacts in health, =
air,
water and land.

Every day, each American consumes 120 pounds of stuff, figuring in all =
the
natural resources used in the making of our products. Stone and cement, =
coal,
farm products, minerals, oil, wood and so on flow at increasingly faster
rates from sacrificial sites, as if the speed were turned up on a
conveyor-belt smorgasbord that runs through field and forest and right =
into
our neighborhoods.

The average American now requires roughly 24 football fields (or acres) =
of
natural resources to maintain his or her standard of living, despite the
arithmetic fact that there are only five acres available for each person =
on
the planet. And five acres per capita must also meet the needs of =
millions of
other species that support us and share the planet with us. As countries =
like
China strive to raise their levels of consumption, where will four or =
five
more planets come from?

No time to care

We don't take time to care.

In recent years our household budgets have skyrocketed for day care, =
elderly
care, health care, lawn care, house cleaners, psychiatrists, =
chiropractors,
herbalists, party entertainers, and online vendors - in direct =
proportion to
our quest to be "care-free."

Court reporters document that we talk faster than we did in the '60s.
Visitors from other countries comment that we appear to be walking in
fast-forward, and graphologists note that our writing is progressively
degenerating into scribble.

We sleep less, cook and eat faster, and even have sex faster. To the =
rest of
life on Earth, time is something to be savored. Biological and physical
rhythms and cycles define and celebrate time in a clock-free world - =
things
like the temperature of the soil in spring, mating rituals, and phases =
of the
moon. Other animal species eat when they're hungry, not when clocks tell =
them
to. The critical factor for other species is fitting in with the =
timeless
patterns of evolution. In short, time is synonymous with life itself. =
Yet,
for many Americans, "time is money."

We used to "slow down and smell the roses," but now we only have time to
"wake up and smell the coffee." We schedule our lives to fit abstract =
time
rather than natural time, forfeiting opportunities to understand how =
nature
works and be part of it.

We're finding out that consumption is itself time-consuming, carving =
away
opportunities to experience nature directly. Instead, we regard it as a
commodity to be snacked on like animal crackers. American wilderness =
mall
exhibits, for example, enable weary shoppers to get a breath of natural
fragrance in a stage-set wilderness. For about the price of a pair of =
good
hiking socks, the tourist is led through six different wilderness =
settings.
How many different simulated species can you spot?

No time to recycle

Maybe you're wondering about the fate of the electric razor packaging I
finally wrestled to the ground. I assure you, it went into the recycling
container. But what about the several Super Bowl stadiums of waste the
country generates every day? Are Americans taking the time to recycle =
it?

About a decade ago, Jerry Powell, editor of Resource Recycling magazine,
observed that more people took part in recycling than voted. "Recycling =
is
more popular than democracy," he concluded.

I called him to see if he stood by that statement now, and was relieved =
to
hear him say, "Absolutely: 140 million homes have curbside recycling
available, and about 70 percent take part. When you add in drop-off =
centers,
office recycling of paper, telephone book recycling, and so on, you =
easily
surpass our low levels of voter turnout."

We may have recycling systems in place, but we're using them less, =
partly
because we're in a hurry. For example, in Seattle, once the national =
leader
in recycling, city waste-management officials recently announced that =
the
amount of the city's waste that is being recycled has dropped from 52 =
percent
to 38 percent over the past few years. The drop in recycling occurred
precisely at a time when working hours were rising. Many people say they =
are
just too busy, too tired and too overworked to recycle.

Another problem, as Jerry Powell points out, "is out-of-home =
consumption. For
example, at work, it used to be standard to bring your lunch in reusable
containers. These days, haste makes waste when we rush into a =
convenience
store or a take-out restaurant, where burgers and pizza come in =
throwaway
packaging. We take garbage out with us, and a large percentage of that =
kind
of waste ends up in landfills."

The less we recycle, the faster we'll churn through natural resources, =
and
the harder we'll have to work.

Slow down, do it right

When the phrase "haste makes waste" was first uttered back in the 14th
century (also when the mechanical clock was invented), it meant, "Go =
slowly,
take care. Do it well, so you don't have to do it again." That advice is =
even
more compelling today, at a time when haste and time pressure are
contributing to growing mountains of waste, and growing threats to =
ecological
systems.

And when it comes to mega-challenges like species extinction, global =
warming
and the contamination of global water supplies, we may not get a chance =
to do
it again. The sobering - and, let's hope, rallying - fact is, we're =
running
out of time.

E-mail David Wann at wanndavejr@cs.com. This article appears in the
forthcoming anthology, "Take Back Your Time" (Berrett-Koehler, Sept. =
2003), a
book that will precede the first annual Take Back Your Time Day on Oct. =
24.

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<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Message</TITLE>
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<BODY>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" =
color=3D#000000=20
size=3D-1><FONT face=3D"verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" =
color=3D#000000=20
size=3D5><SPAN class=3D897295216-07082003><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" =
color=3D#0000ff=20
size=3D3>Good Article<SPAN class=3D609295913-19082003><FONT face=3DArial =

size=3D2>&nbsp;. Worth a read. Also related is "The Resource =
Conservation=20
Challenge" that EPA announced a year ago.&nbsp;Make the&nbsp;time, check =
out the=20
web site with the details (<A=20
href=3D"http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/conserve/index.htm">www.epa.gov/e=
paoswer/osw/conserve/index.htm</A>).=20
Glen</FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" =
color=3D#000000=20
size=3D-1><FONT face=3D"verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" =
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size=3D5><SPAN class=3D897295216-07082003><FONT face=3DArial =
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size=3D2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<CENTER><SPAN class=3D897295216-07082003><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"=20
color=3D#0000ff size=3D3></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</CENTER>
<CENTER><SPAN class=3D897295216-07082003><FONT face=3DArial =
color=3D#0000ff=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</CENTER>
<CENTER><SPAN class=3D897295216-07082003><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"=20
color=3D#0000ff size=3D3></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</CENTER>
<CENTER><SPAN=20
class=3D897295216-07082003>&nbsp;</SPAN><STRONG>perspective</STRONG></CEN=
TER></FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D4>
<CENTER><B><A=20
href=3D"http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E75%257E1545114,00=
.html">Waste=20
makes haste</A></B></CENTER></FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D4>
<CENTER></CENTER></FONT>
<P><FONT face=3D"verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color=3D#000000=20
size=3D-2><B>David Wann</B></FONT><BR><FONT=20
face=3D"verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D-1><B>Sunday,=20
August 03, 2003</B></FONT> <FONT face=3D"verdana, arial, helvetica, =
sans-serif"=20
color=3D#000000 size=3D-1>- <I>Speed is irrelevant if you're traveling =
in the wrong=20
direction.=20
<P>- Mohandas Gandhi</P></I>
<P>I had an unsettling thought the other day as I wrestled, scissors in =
hand,=20
with the fortress-like plastic packaging around a new electric razor. I =
wondered=20
if anyone had accidentally taken his own life trying to unwrap a =
consumer item=20
like this one. If a person's flustered grip on the package slipped, I =
thought,=20
those sharp scissors could plunge into vital organs. Cause of death: =
thick,=20
stubborn packaging.</P>
<P>I knew the packaging was as much for the manufacturers' and =
retailers'=20
benefits as mine, and in a way, I resented that. They were making the =
money, I=20
was spending the time - first the work-time to buy the expensive razor, =
then the=20
fluster-time to penetrate its package.</P>
<P>I'd bought the electric unit because I was tired of buying and =
throwing out=20
blades. I hoped to do less damage to my checking account and to the =
environment=20
with the electric razor, but considering all the electricity the razor =
would use=20
and all the energy that had gone into its manufacture, I wasn't =
completely=20
certain.</P>
<TABLE class=3DarticleImageBox width=3D25 align=3Dleft border=3D0>
  <TBODY>
  <TR>
    <TD><IMG hspace=3D1=20
      src=3D"http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper36/wann.jpg" =
align=3Dleft=20
      vspace=3D1 border=3D0 NOSEND=3D"1"></A></TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD class=3DphotoCredit align=3Dleft><!--Put photo credit =
here--></TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD class=3DarticleImageCaption><B><!--Put caption here-->David Wann =
is=20
      co-author of the best-selling 'Affluenza: The All-Consuming =
Epidemic'=20
      (Berrett-Koehler). </B></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P>I thought about the man who got me into this shaving jam to begin =
with: King=20
Gillette, who at the end of the 19th century pondered what sort of =
business he=20
should launch. Why not sell an essential but flawed product, he =
reasoned, that=20
would be thrown away after a few uses, providing a steady stream of =
profits? In=20
a sense, Gillette and people like him were responsible not only for the=20
disposable razor blade but also for the calculated, costly, disposable =
culture=20
we're tangled up in.</P>
<P>To obtain the "convenience" of those throwaway blades, how many hours =
do we=20
spend prowling supermarket aisles in search of new cartridges? How much =
"hidden"=20
time do we spend in the car and at work? And, of course, it's not just =
razor=20
blades but computer equipment, frozen dinners, paper towels, tape =
dispensers,=20
batteries, even cars and houses, all of which typically have short and =
shoddy=20
lifetimes.</P>
<P>Aren't we hurrying partly to overcome the hidden costs of these =
disposable,=20
poorly designed products?</P>
<P>Take computers. They're incredibly fast, but their speed is sometimes =
a=20
liability. For example, home computers not only enable workers to extend =
the=20
workday into their personal lives, they also enable us to shop 'til we =
drop in=20
the privacy of our own homes.</P>
<P>Unless we choose the often-unavailable option of ground delivery, our =

Internet orders will be sent airmail, five times as energy-intensive as =
delivery=20
by truck. When Amazon.com pledged to deliver copies of "Harry Potter and =
the=20
Goblet of Fire" on the book's publication date, a squadron of airplanes=20
distributed 250,000 packages to readers anxiously sitting by their mail=20
chutes.
Computers have other hidden costs, which we pay for by working longer =
and=20
longer hours. To take advantage of the computer's racehorse speed, we =
pamper it=20
with the latest software, which takes time to download. We wait for it =
to boot=20
up, and we wait as it steeplechases to a desired web page. We "defrag" =
it,=20
upgrade it, forgive its inopportune crashes that leave us helpless, and =
like a=20
protective, anxious mother, we shelter it from viruses. These are some =
of the=20
hidden time costs.
Then there are the many hidden ecological costs, well explained by =
Jim Fisher=20
in a Web article, "Poison PCs": "Along with the lead in its cathode ray =
tubes=20
and circuit boards," he writes, "my computer was loaded with chemicals =
that have=20
documented risks to public health and the environment: There was cadmium =
in its=20
semiconductors, mercury in its switches and position sensors, chromium =
in its=20
steel housing, brominated flame retardants in its circuit boards, =
nickel,=20
lithium, cadmium and other metals in its batteries. All that was missing =
was a=20
55-gallon drum."
It's not likely computers will ever give way to index cards and =
typewriter=20
ribbons again, but since they contain 700 different materials, computers =
must be=20
designed for effortless recycling. And since they require so much energy =
to=20
manufacture, our product strategy needs to change from obsolescence to=20
durability.
The faster we produce ...
As I fought with the electric razor's packaging, I wondered, has the=20
industrialized, conveyor-belt pace that creates "planned obsolescence" =
become=20
embedded in our daily routines? In effect, does waste make haste, which =
then=20
creates ever more waste in a vicious, accelerating cycle? If so, how do =
we break=20
the cycle?
To begin with, we need to acknowledge - as individuals and as a =
culture -=20
that the best things in life really aren't things. The best things are =
bonds=20
with people, contact with nature, and health - qualities that don't =
require us=20
to be in a hurry.
To give ourselves time for these priceless forms of wealth, we need =
to reduce=20
our junk intake, buying fewer things but better things. More durable and =

environmentally friendly things. We need to slow down to the speed of =
quality,=20
rather than accelerating to the speed of quantity.
Make no mistake; This will require a change of historic proportions. =
There's=20
good evidence that the high-speed chase we're in began centuries before =
the=20
invention of the disposable razor blade, in the blacksmith shops, =
tanneries and=20
sawmills where the Industrial Revolution was born. When tinkerers began=20
perfecting technologies that could produce more goods than were =
necessary, they=20
felt compelled to persuade buyers to consume the greatest number of =
products in=20
the shortest period of time.
In the 20th century, Henry Ford made speed an industrial requirement =
when he=20
borrowed the idea of the assembly line from Chicago slaughterhouses to=20
accelerate automobile output. The same techniques that he perfected for =
the car=20
were soon adapted to the mass-production of houses. Developers like =
William=20
Levitt (who built Levittown in the late 1940s) erected 30 houses a day =
by=20
dividing the construction process into 27 steps. The houses were built =
at=20
remarkable speed, and when the dust settled and the first families moved =
in, an=20
army of salesmen were there to greet them.
What postwar economists loved about the accelerated pace of house=20
construction was that each new home was a ready market for stuff.
Marketing analyst Victor Lebow wrote in 1950, "Our enormously =
productive=20
economy demands that that we make consumption a way of life, that we =
convert the=20
buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual =
satisfaction,=20
our ego satisfaction, in consumption ... . We need things consumed, =
burned up,=20
worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever-increasing rate."
Manufacturers, smelling spoils, ramped up the speed of their =
conveyors. As=20
Alvin and Heidi Toffler point out in "Creating a New Civilization": "The =

interval between desire and gratification is quickly approaching =
simultaneity as=20
consumers come to expect a greater array of novel products and services =
at near=20
breakneck speed."
Speed kills
The problem is that speed kills. When production systems are in a =
hurry, care=20
falls by the wayside and mountains of waste are created. To give just =
one=20
example among many, production capacity and consumer demand have =
combined to=20
deplete about one-fourth of the world's fisheries, according to the =
World=20
Resources Institute, with another 44 percent currently being fished at =
the=20
biological limit.
Sonar technology tracks large schools of fish; trawling nets - the =
bulldozers=20
of the ocean floor - gather them in, and refrigerated processing ships =
bring=20
them back to market. In the process, a third of the global catch (30 =
million=20
tons a year) is killed and tossed overboard because it's =
unmarketable.
Much of that fish catch is fed to America's 60 million cats, and the =
beat=20
goes on.
The pace of industry strikes every inch of the globe, dicing habitats =
into=20
fragments and smothering them under mine tailings, striped-shorted =
tourists,=20
logging slash and pavement.
Even the essential nutrients of life - nitrogen, sulfur, carbon and=20
phosphorus - have become hyperactive, far surpassing the natural cycle =
rates=20
that remained constant for eons. An overdose of nitrogen causes rain to =
be acid=20
and lakes to become clogged with algae. Too much carbon, too fast, and =
the=20
world's glaciers begin to melt.
In 1991, hikers in the Alps came upon a startling time capsule: an =
intact=20
human mummy protruding from a melting glacier. Apparently trapped in a =
snowstorm=20
more than 5,000 years ago, he returned with a symbolic message for us, =
notes=20
environmentalist Lester Brown: The Earth is getting warmer, =
quickly.
The faster we consume ...
The message we get every day is hurry up and consume. But many =
scientists now=20
agree that over-consumption is the world's most serious environmental =
threat,=20
because for every product we consume, an average of 20 times its weight =
in raw=20
materials was consumed to make it. The raw materials that go into a =
gadget or=20
article of clothing may have disrupted biological habitats at the mine =
site,=20
farm field, or chemical plant. Then, product manufacture, distribution,=20
advertising, and packaging take their toll. At the end of the line, our =
use of=20
the product may contribute further impacts in health, air, water and =
land.
Every day, each American consumes 120 pounds of stuff, figuring in =
all the=20
natural resources used in the making of our products. Stone and cement, =
coal,=20
farm products, minerals, oil, wood and so on flow at increasingly faster =
rates=20
from sacrificial sites, as if the speed were turned up on a =
conveyor-belt=20
smorgasbord that runs through field and forest and right into our=20
neighborhoods.
The average American now requires roughly 24 football fields (or =
acres) of=20
natural resources to maintain his or her standard of living, despite the =

arithmetic fact that there are only five acres available for each person =
on the=20
planet. And five acres per capita must also meet the needs of millions =
of other=20
species that support us and share the planet with us. As countries like =
China=20
strive to raise their levels of consumption, where will four or five =
more=20
planets come from?
No time to care
We don't take time to care.
In recent years our household budgets have skyrocketed for day care, =
elderly=20
care, health care, lawn care, house cleaners, psychiatrists, =
chiropractors,=20
herbalists, party entertainers, and online vendors - in direct =
proportion to our=20
quest to be "care-free."
Court reporters document that we talk faster than we did in the '60s. =

Visitors from other countries comment that we appear to be walking in=20
fast-forward, and graphologists note that our writing is progressively=20
degenerating into scribble.
We sleep less, cook and eat faster, and even have sex faster. To the =
rest of=20
life on Earth, time is something to be savored. Biological and physical =
rhythms=20
and cycles define and celebrate time in a clock-free world - things like =
the=20
temperature of the soil in spring, mating rituals, and phases of the =
moon. Other=20
animal species eat when they're hungry, not when clocks tell them to. =
The=20
critical factor for other species is fitting in with the timeless =
patterns of=20
evolution. In short, time is synonymous with life itself. Yet, for many=20
Americans, "time is money."
We used to "slow down and smell the roses," but now we only have time =
to=20
"wake up and smell the coffee." We schedule our lives to fit abstract =
time=20
rather than natural time, forfeiting opportunities to understand how =
nature=20
works and be part of it.
We're finding out that consumption is itself time-consuming, carving =
away=20
opportunities to experience nature directly. Instead, we regard it as a=20
commodity to be snacked on like animal crackers. American wilderness =
mall=20
exhibits, for example, enable weary shoppers to get a breath of natural=20
fragrance in a stage-set wilderness. For about the price of a pair of =
good=20
hiking socks, the tourist is led through six different wilderness =
settings. How=20
many different simulated species can you spot?
No time to recycle
Maybe you're wondering about the fate of the electric razor packaging =
I=20
finally wrestled to the ground. I assure you, it went into the recycling =

container. But what about the several Super Bowl stadiums of waste the =
country=20
generates every day? Are Americans taking the time to recycle it?
About a decade ago, Jerry Powell, editor of Resource Recycling =
magazine,=20
observed that more people took part in recycling than voted. "Recycling =
is more=20
popular than democracy," he concluded.
I called him to see if he stood by that statement now, and was =
relieved to=20
hear him say, "Absolutely: 140 million homes have curbside recycling =
available,=20
and about 70 percent take part. When you add in drop-off centers, office =

recycling of paper, telephone book recycling, and so on, you easily =
surpass our=20
low levels of voter turnout."
We may have recycling systems in place, but we're using them less, =
partly=20
because we're in a hurry. For example, in Seattle, once the national =
leader in=20
recycling, city waste-management officials recently announced that the =
amount of=20
the city's waste that is being recycled has dropped from 52 percent to =
38=20
percent over the past few years. The drop in recycling occurred =
precisely at a=20
time when working hours were rising. Many people say they are just too =
busy, too=20
tired and too overworked to recycle.
Another problem, as Jerry Powell points out, "is out-of-home =
consumption. For=20
example, at work, it used to be standard to bring your lunch in reusable =

containers. These days, haste makes waste when we rush into a =
convenience store=20
or a take-out restaurant, where burgers and pizza come in throwaway =
packaging.=20
We take garbage out with us, and a large percentage of that kind of =
waste ends=20
up in landfills."</P>
<P>The less we recycle, the faster we'll churn through natural =
resources, and=20
the harder we'll have to work.</P><B>
<P>Slow down, do it right</P></B>
<P>When the phrase "haste makes waste" was first uttered back in the =
14th=20
century (also when the mechanical clock was invented), it meant, "Go =
slowly,=20
take care. Do it well, so you don't have to do it again." That advice is =
even=20
more compelling today, at a time when haste and time pressure are =
contributing=20
to growing mountains of waste, and growing threats to ecological =
systems.</P>
<P>And when it comes to mega-challenges like species extinction, global =
warming=20
and the contamination of global water supplies, we may not get a chance =
to do it=20
again. The sobering - and, let's hope, rallying - fact is, we're running =
out of=20
time.</P><I>
<P>E-mail David Wann at <A=20
href=3D"mailto:wanndavejr@cs.com">wanndavejr@cs.com</A>. This article =
appears in=20
the forthcoming anthology, "Take Back Your Time" (Berrett-Koehler, Sept. =
2003),=20
a book that will precede the first annual Take Back Your Time Day on =
Oct.=20
24.</P></I></FONT>
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