This is the season when we are reminded constantly that we live in a world where the only think that matters is money. Without it you are in trouble and it seems that the more you have, the more you want. So many people have far more money than they can possible spend in a thousand lifetimes and yet they still want more. In pursuit of more money we are exposed to barrage upon barrage of temptations and expectations that are designed to separate us fools from the money that we have. In consequence we buy mountains of garbage that we could really do without. In no particular order we have -
Bottled Water. We live in a country where tap water is cheap and clean and yet there is a flourishing market for bottled water, much of which probably comes for a tap anyway. It is seen as essential to have a bottle of water with you wherever you go and you must also drink it the right way. It has to be drunk through the side of the mouth, not the front, and it must also have the right label. So we are accumulating vast quantities of plastic waste simply for the sake of fashion.
Christmas wrapping paper. Thousands of miles of printed paper is used each year to wrap gifts that no-one really wants and is torn up and thrown away into landfill along with the excessive packaging that seems necessary to make cheap plastic rubbish attractive and saleable at inflated prices.
Christmas crackers. Was there ever any product more ridiculous or less desirable? How many tons of materials and how much energy is wasted in their production each year? I am sure that the chinese economy is maintained by them but really?
Christmas lights. Ever since the Griswolds' Family Christmas, it seems that some people like to illuminate their neighbourhoods for the month of december. They are wasting so much energy and goodness knows how they pay the electricity bill when it comes. On top of that other people drive around their neighbourhoods to look at the displays, thereby wasting fuel and pouring more exhaust fumes into the already polluted air.
Christmas food generally. Super concentrated calories that have short lived appeal. Christmas cakes and puddings laden with sugar, fruit and alcohol seldom get fully consumed and much of what we put on the table gets left and discarded.
Plastic toys and games. I remember when plastic was a novelty. It has worn off!
Christmas cards. Why oh why do we send them? Probably because everyone else does and though the post office makes a fortune, it is an annual chore that most people would quite easily shed.
I could go on, and I know that I do tend to, but then what is this blog for? Maybe we could do without that too.
Bottled Water. We live in a country where tap water is cheap and clean and yet there is a flourishing market for bottled water, much of which probably comes for a tap anyway. It is seen as essential to have a bottle of water with you wherever you go and you must also drink it the right way. It has to be drunk through the side of the mouth, not the front, and it must also have the right label. So we are accumulating vast quantities of plastic waste simply for the sake of fashion.
Christmas wrapping paper. Thousands of miles of printed paper is used each year to wrap gifts that no-one really wants and is torn up and thrown away into landfill along with the excessive packaging that seems necessary to make cheap plastic rubbish attractive and saleable at inflated prices.
Christmas crackers. Was there ever any product more ridiculous or less desirable? How many tons of materials and how much energy is wasted in their production each year? I am sure that the chinese economy is maintained by them but really?
Christmas lights. Ever since the Griswolds' Family Christmas, it seems that some people like to illuminate their neighbourhoods for the month of december. They are wasting so much energy and goodness knows how they pay the electricity bill when it comes. On top of that other people drive around their neighbourhoods to look at the displays, thereby wasting fuel and pouring more exhaust fumes into the already polluted air.
Christmas food generally. Super concentrated calories that have short lived appeal. Christmas cakes and puddings laden with sugar, fruit and alcohol seldom get fully consumed and much of what we put on the table gets left and discarded.
Plastic toys and games. I remember when plastic was a novelty. It has worn off!
Christmas cards. Why oh why do we send them? Probably because everyone else does and though the post office makes a fortune, it is an annual chore that most people would quite easily shed.
I could go on, and I know that I do tend to, but then what is this blog for? Maybe we could do without that too.
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