🖖 There are better ways

I had a different topic lined up for today. 

But I kept getting distracted.

Not by social media. 

But by plastic.

It’s everywhere.

The more I research about space, the more evident it becomes that we have plenty of changes to make down here.

Today I felt overwhelmed. 

Where do we start?

I was confused.

Better ways exist that help us reduce the damage we’ve done to the environment. Why aren’t they being done by default?

Rechargeable batteries exist.

So why aren’t all batteries rechargeable?

Almost all restaurants produce food scraps.

Why aren’t centralised composting facilities in busy areas a thing?

We have recycling bins.

What’s one more?

Foods are wrapped in plastic.

And it’s true that this keeps germs and dirt off of our food during travel. Is there another way to keep foods safe for the public?

Tangerines don’t need to be pre-peeled and stored on shelves in plastic cups. They’re grown with their own protective covering.

What about other types of packaging?

Paper bags, which recycle and degrade well, are used for foods too. But then they’re lined with a wax or other coating that no longer allows it to be recycled.

Is there a better container action.

You ever hear of plasma arc recycling?

It has a few names.

But trash from landfills can be dumped in essentially a large funnel. At the bottom is a plasma arc- electricity that is sent through a gas that raises the temperature so much that it ionises the gas.

The molecules lose electrons. And in that mixture things get hot.

Almost anything that touches it…vaporises.

Well then you channel that vapour through turbine generators to create power for buildings.

Now that’s cool, right?

What can we do to create more closed-loop systems. Systems where any waste generated is planned ahead and is meant to be used again.

I could keep adding examples to this little rant. But you get the idea.

As I go about my day, I’m gonna reevaluate my daily tasks. I’ll see if there’s a cleaner way.

If individuals looked at just one task a day where would we be in a year?

If businesses did the same?

Cities?

A quote I picked up in university has remained a benchmark for most big decisions:

“A winner says, ‘They’re ought to be a better way to do it.’
A loser says, ‘But that’s the way it’s always been done.’

Seems applicable yet again.