"Story of Stuff" Inspiring Change

The Story of stuff covers topics like the environment, consumerism, sustainability, capitalism, materialism, and social science in an informative common, sense way. This concept of this 300-page book is the best rebuttal to the theories of Victor Lebow’s 1955 “Journal of Retailing” I have seen to date. The Story of Stuff really breaks down how much control over consumer choices big businesses and political policies have on the day-to-day life of the average consumer. Consumerism is connected to the whole economic system, which is connected to political systems, and of course, this impacts the planet and its inhabitants. Although people can make a difference by taking responsibility for their decisions on what they eat, wear, drive, buy, and, most importantly, what they throw away. The corrupt system of democracy has indeed been failing to close the divide on income inequality and combating the realities of climate change. I find the book to be a great addition to my collection. The videos are an excellent teaching tool for everyone, allowing them to understand the impact of resource management. These videos could help High School and College students understand what is happening to natural resources. Maybe even get the next generation more involved with voting, boycotting poor quality products, recycling, and reusing discarded things to conserve natural resources.        

Way’s To Change our World

Management of natural and human capital is a topic that can be viewed from many angles, all dictated by desired outcomes. Although I find Herman Daly's statement amusing, "Viewing the economic process as a disembodied, circular flow of value between production and consumption is like trying to understand the biology of an animal only in terms of its circulatory system, without taking into account the fact it also has a digestive tract that ties it firmly to its environment at both ends" it is incredibly accurate. Specific changes can be made in everyday society and make a difference; instead of planting flowers on the side of the interstate, plant vegetables. Instead of having grassy parks in cities, sustainable food forests, and, instead of neighborhoods, Agra hoods with a farm in the center of them encourage the kids to get off of the couch, get out and grow food or raise livestock. Pass laws state that forests with timber harvested have to be replanted, and a certain percentage of the new growth has to produce food. Instead of building code as the minimum, raise the bar, make LEED the new minimum, and require all new homes have a certain amount of renewable energy production. Reintroduce Urban Renewal policies in the United States by rebuilding substandard homes to meet these standards and create jobs. Set aside money and plan for the infrastructure of the future. Reclaim the past business practices to build durable products that are worth repairing and will create jobs in the long run. Even looking at older technology used decades ago and seeing if the design ideas could streamline modern products. The economy, human capital, natural capital, and manufactured capital are so interconnected that once one starts to fail, it strains the others.    

Fiction or reality "Oil Storm"

In the movie oil storm, the most pivotal decision point was right after the assessment of damages. As the movie said, the potential loss of life after the battery should have been the focus. Essentially, they said it would take over a year to rebuild Port Fourchon, with the production and import losses being around 2,000,000 barrels of oil a day. The first fact is there was 350 day of oil available in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, so step one should have been to reduce oil consumption across the board. I would have made all work weeks four-day work weeks and encouraged all companies that were not infrastructural related to be closed one day a week (like Sunday) for a month. I would set up a gas rationing program like in WWII for everyone but emergency vehicles, farm equipment, and licensed public transportation. I would set up general information programs encouraging bike riding, motorcycle riding, carpooling, and mass transportation. I would have started moving products by rail and prioritizing trucking shipments to government contracts to ensure National Security. I would have dedicated an oil tanker to moving the available 20% oil production from Louisiana Port to the Texas Port while focusing repairing the loop in Louisiana. I would have increased domestic oil production, started bartering for oil from other countries, and looked first to Canada. I would constantly monitor the nation's state as the crises unfolded and rekindled the idea of the American Spirit, and reminded everyone that on one level or another, we were all in this together all well, bringing as many members of our military home to help rebuild the nation's infrastructure.            

Electric Cars are they Really the Future?

       
                The electric car is something to marvel at, it can be safer, environmentally friendly, and a simple designed mechanical system compared to the standard gas models. After watching a different episode of Fully Charged, I was shocked at the amount of energy used in the refining process of petroleum. Adding all the shipping, pumping, and transportation costs to get gas to the pump truly gives the electric car the efficiency award. I was born at the end of technological innovation and watched the world accept the status quo. I grew up expecting to live like the Jettisons, and instead, the United States has been stuck on Sesame Street, where everything stays the same. It is time for this generation to make changes to our global economy, and promoting alternative transportation is a fantastic way to start. The one question is why electric car manufacturers have only concentrated on regenerating electricity in the braking system? When supercapacitors technologies are suitable to use as an independent energy source for short distances (stop-and-go vehicles) such as city buses, tunnel trucks, and Warf trucks, primarily when this technology can also be used in pure electric or hybrid electric vehicles. Supercapacitors have been proven efficient in start-stop situations because they can reach a maximum speed of 50 kmh and complete charging in five seconds. The more that could be put back into the battery would effectively create a longer run time. Why don’t they have ram air induction ports that lead to accentuate a small-scale wind turbine and more solar collecting systems to add to the battery time? The electric car should concentrate on getting more miles out of each charge, and I have seen less self-sufficiency. The improvement of systems and battery longevity should not be overlooked, but what is wrong with creating the total efficiency package and generating electricity? Most car enthusiasts may not like the idea of electric cars, but when it comes to performance, I would suggest looking up Zombie 222 for a glimpse of an electric muscle car (68 Mustang fastback) performance. When it comes to modern technology meets old school, Zombie 222 is one of the best examples I know of. When it comes to new cars, electrics fit more stations than ever.   

Water Management Ideas

         





Anupam Mishra's Ted Talk sowed slides of many different forms of architecture, some modern and some ancient, but all were designed to harvest every drop of water from the desert climate. Respect purity of the water and the people using it was what he described as the most important thing about water and the reason why their system works in India. Respect was directed not just at keeping contaminates from polluting water in collection areas but also for the rights of every person to water. This means no one can own the water, and these values have worked for centuries in India. Catchments, wells, condensation collection, and ample storage areas have worked in the desert climate for hundreds of years. 

The second part of this article is on the French inventor and appropriate technologist from the 1980's Jean Pain. He found a solution to manage the French countryside's underbrush that was so dangerous during wildfire seasons. The pain had discovered that if he were to harvest the underbrush and mulch it up, he could use it for multiple resources. He would place the mulch into approximately 262 square feet of round piles while wetting it in layers. In the center of these mulch piles, a fermentation tank was filled with biodegrading material like food scraps, solid waste, or food prep bi-products. Sealing off the tank would produce a byproduct of methane which he used to run his stove. Then he would run a hundred feet or so of 2-inch black pipe layered throughout the rest of the mulch pile as he layered it into a cylinder shape. The mulch piles could produce around one gallon a minute of 140° F water from the natural heat that breaks down the organic material. He used it for hot water, plus to heat his house as it was circulated in a system of pipes throughout the house. This natural breakdown of organic materials like leaves in valleys or low spots in the forest is how small animals keep warm in the winter. These discussion points are both excellent examples of sustainable harvesting and using water.

Inspired by Natural Capital Ch.3

The constant expansion of prisons in the United States US) has become a social justice problem, and in short, the US is no longer the home of the free. The war on drugs, poverty, racial inequality, and lack of representation in the US government has set up the American public for failure. Prison overpopulation is now starting to put a strain on the local and state governments. Instead of changing outdated policies or laws, they want to outsource the problem to private prison companies. The largest prison company in the United States is Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), and at this point in time, the CCA has 61 facilities in the US alone. During recent negotiations, the CCA said they could operate these facilities for a cheaper cost than the local and state governments as long as they guaranteed a specific incarceration rate and retention rate. This seems unconstitutional, immoral, and illegal because the only way this grantee can be obtained is for the judicial branch to forgo early releases, give maximum penalties, and take advantage of poor, misrepresented individuals. This is extreme when a homeless man gets a longer sentence for stealing a roll of toilet paper from a government facility than a child molester. I witnessed this situation while serving on a grand jury years ago when just relooking at outdated laws and making adjustments can lessen the number of people incarcerated by having drug treatment facilities, legalizing medical marijuana, and minimizing lobbying. This is just a tiny part of the underlying problem, but a working solution is needed to sustain ourselves on this planet.  

Economics and Resource Management

            The story of stuff series, like the story of change, the level of bottled water, and the story of electronics, are all excellent. Victor Lavoe's planned obsolesces idea is bankrupting this planet's natural resources. The story of change's three-point plan (idea, commitment, action) is achievable and a reasonable response to the state of the world. The planned obsolesce movement was about boosting the economy of the United States after WWII, so the new direction can be called reversing designed obsolesce. The central theme is to undo the sustained damage that planned obsolesce caused. Doing so should incite the creation of jobs, the invention of the replacement technology, cleaning up waste sites, reusing, recycling, and electing different-minded leadership. It will take several generations to undo what has been done to the planet and humanity. Society must redirect the golden arrow to the greatest good for the masses, not the few. The business-as-usual style of representation in the US capital needs to change, and the first thing to go is corporate influence, corporate welfare, and subsidies. A comprehensive plan to restore the planet to a growing, healthy ecology should be a top priority of all world leaders. Replacing and recycling transportation alone would create a strong job market, not to mention changing farming or toxic chemicals. The world should demand quality goods and services, with no exceptions.