Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Environmental Cost of the Recession

The United States economy, according to all the experts, is suffering from a horrible recession. The stock market is down, and many Americans are still out of work. Many people think that the recession is a blessing in disguise in regards to a cleaner environment. With gas prices continuing to fluctuate and bank accounts continuing to decline many more people are using public transportation or carpooling, leaving their cars in the garage helping decrease pollution. This is a true but there are also two major environmental problems resulting from the recession, cheaper food and deforestation.
With less money comes fewer opportunities to purchase higher priced foods. People think that eating at home more is a remedy to almost every problem. Lower pollution because they are not driving and fewer family problems because of shared meals; but, the major “benefit” can be found with the cheapness of store bought food in comparison with restaurant food. Americans are now buying cheaper foods in order to fit their budgets. But following an article from E Magazine.com, the cheaper the food the less shelf life the food has leading to more garbage a normal family deposits. Cheaper foods, on average, have a shorter shelf life. Families buy the cheaper food to save a little more money in this economically unstable time. Shorter shelf lives, however, lead to more garbage, because when the food goes bad families throw it away and buy more that eventually goes bad, a continuous cycle about which I am afraid nothing really can be done. With less money Americans need cheaper food in order to eat, plain and simple. The only real solution, though probably not practical, would be for individuals to demand better quality from their cheap food manufactures. But the other main environmental issue steaming from the recession can be fixed.
Along with cheap food, Americans are buying cheap furniture and cheap do-it-yourself building materials. With this increase in demand for these cheap materials comes an increase in the need for a supply of the materials, Economics 101. The major component in cheap furniture and do it yourself kits is wood. A need for more wood equals more wood that needs to be cut down. This is nothing new, Americans have needed wood for furniture, homes, and building materials since our founding, but today shops are building cheaper furniture with less durability than their more expensive competitors. Cheaper furniture then leads to an even higher increase in demand because the cheap furniture breaks easier and may not last as long. Thus, deforestation is the result from the high demand of wood. In Europe forests are being destroyed illegally in order to keep up with the high demand for wood. The world’s forests are like filters, taking in the bad air and pollution, and giving back clean, fresh air. There is a very easy solution, stop buying products using illegal wood supplies, and start buying products from wood suppliers that have renewable means for producing wood.
So, in a not so direct way, the recession is causing more environmental problems that no one really sees. Cheap, the word that many people love to hear now a days, is also a concept that is leading to more and more environmental problems, whether it is cheap food spoiled and filling up our landfills, or our need for cheap easily breakable furniture that needs replacing from month to month, containing wood from illegal manufactures. There is no real solution, only a need for a wakeup call. Cheaper food and furniture may seem like the best option in today’s economy, but it is leading to a poorer environment. Knowledge about the environmental side of the recession is necessary for change.

Josh Wyatt, Legal Intern

1 comment:

  1. Americans need to stop wasting so much food...period. Cheap or expensive should not matter.

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