TRASH - ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

• Data tracking for waste products
  • allow every household to have data on the weight of their weekly trash.
  • When the trash company comes to pick up waste, the weight of the container is already taken into consideration, so the truck can measure the weight of the trash
  • this data can be given to each household and confidential for them to know and track.
  • this data can also inform the city to know how much waste it is producing
  • this data should not be used to condemn, but to encourage a less wasteful society
  • methane gas is a factor that we should all be aware that we are contributing to!
• Conduct a survey to see how many residents are informed on the gravity of waste production

if you want to read my unpublished paper on why trash is such a big problem, ill link it here

TLDR:

• landfills in the US are the third top emittors of methane gas, and methane is 28 times more powerful than carbon emissions in trapping heat. basically, all the trash we’re producing is contributing to climate change
• we’re living incredibly wastefully as the wealthiest country in the world (in terms of GDP)
• it’s unethical for us to live this way, and we’ve created this society. so we should try our best to be aware of our lifestyle and strive to live minimal waste!!

“As co-operators with God in the work of subduing creation, mankind is called to virtuous standards of prudence and stewardship. As Clement explains in the MR theory, the profit-driven economy in the urbanized society has contributed to the excessive usage of natural resources and the improper management of waste. Rather than prioritizing profit-maximization at the expense of mankind’s ecological relationship with creation, prudence and stewardship should be placed as higher values to live out.

Although innovative technologies from the period of industrialization resulted in high levels of environmental degradation, the positive contributions that were created in this period are undeniable. Without large manufacturing companies with economies of scale, products such as laptops, automobiles, and cell phones would not be as widespread throughout the world. While the innovative market continues to produce amazing technology that further increases productivity and connectedness, it is important to recognize the damage that is being done in the process. Driving the market to be more sustainability-oriented by incorporating an environmentally conscious framework in the cost-benefit analysis of business operations is essential to promoting a healthier, flourishing society. We cannot strive to create a utopia, but we can aim to live out the values of the Christian calling in all areas of our lives.”

— Claire Lee (from my paper linked above)