Planned Obsolence

In watching the "story of stuff" the issue of planned obsolence really caught my attention. This is where company's manufacture products that are designed to become obsolete after a certain amount of time. Taking the ethical issue of this out of the question one needs to now look at the real sustainability and environmental impacts of their products. Lets take a look at cars for example. There are new hybrids coming out as well as hydrogen and fully electric vehicles coming out. All of these are said to have a smaller impact on the environment and what not. The issue with this however is, yes when u drive it it does less damage to the environment, but how long will it last before u need to get a new one. We have to look at this while considering the fact that the most environmentally damaging as well as resource intensive part of a car is the production of it. So it begs the question, 'is it better to drive a "eco-chic' prius or electric car, for 5 years and replace it or rather a big dependable hilux or one of those old Land Rovers that seem to last forever? Because even though environmental people would say the hilux is too much excess and drinks too much gas, the fact is they seem pretty dependable and durable. Top Gear even did a number of tests on it, which included even drowning the engine and it still started. I'm not saying for everyone to go out and buy a hilux because it is the best option, what i'm saying is that if we really are to be environmentally conscious and sustainable then the durability of the product is something that is just as or even more important than its little "green" features. This goes with what an environmentalist once said, that if you're going green and you find it is expensive, then your doing it wrong. This constant production of products and throwing away of old ones is just as big a sustainable issue as the other more popular one. This however may be the hardest one to deal with because it requires people to change their lifestyle and mindset rather than just make the 'green' choice when shopping. This issue of planned obsolence is something that really interests me. Because it shows that a number of these big companies are really green washing more than anything else. I'll be doing some more research and would be writing some more posts on this issue, so keep tune. 

Back In Action

The school semester has finished and I'm setting up for long productive summer. I'll be doing an internship this summer at either Tourism Development Company (TDC) or the Hyatt Regency Trinidad. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to work with a company called Travel Foundations. It is a UK based non-profit company which has a branch in Tobago. They are involved in the sustainable development and tourism two things which really interest me. There are some issues with the feasibility of working with them considered I live in Trinidad and they are in Tobago. In terms of my plans for this blog it is going to be a little bit different in that it won't be just random rants about stuff but rather I would try to back up all my opinions with facts.

Story of Stuff

This is an excellent film and website which gives an overview of the destructive nature of American style consumerism. Her main point is that the system that America and more or less the rest of the world is using is a linear system of production based on a finite resource. There have been some issues about the one sided nature of the short film which to some paints a negative picture of capitalism, as someone who is not a big supporter of capitalism I looked pass that. She also, on the website, backs up all of her facts with a reference type section. All in all I think it is a excellent film and website that everyone should check up. Even if there are some disputes about some of the facts as cited by Fox News, (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520207,00.html) I believe the site really gets you thinking so check it out,(http://www.storyofstuff.com/).