What Is Wrong with Us?

I've been thinking about this a lot - and Earth Day really got me thinking.  We (I mean Americans) as a society are more aware of environmental degradation than ever before.  And yet our economy  keeps cranking out more and more products that are single-use, disposable items.  I watch as people are encouraged to toss mops, brooms, cotton towels, and washcloths, in exchange for the newest, latest, greatest thing that Madison Avenue has dreamed up.  We're being indoctrinated to be afraid of dirt and germs.  Are our homes that germ infested that we're afraid to touch anything?  I know food-borne illnesses are a problem and we need to be careful how we handle food, especially meat.  But often that problem is caused by the huge industrial food complex - but I'll save that for another post.


In the meantime, take a look at this new disposable product:

Or this:

Or this:

And finally, this well known product:

These (and many other) products are incredibly wasteful.  We have so many one-use products that not only end up in landfills, but use up our valuable resources and create unnecessary pollution that contributes to health problems for humans and the rest of the planet.

Seems like other bloggers are thinking along these lines.  For a better discussion of this growing problem, head over to The Good Green Witch, where she's written blog posts covering these and other wasteful products.