CESR Instructor Elizabeth Stapp sounds off about the consequences of our "throw away" culture.
We are a throw away society. This is no accident. In fact, many corporations depend on our desire to consume, basing their business model on planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence focuses on designing a product-from its inception-to have limited usefulness or shelf life. The product is designed to fail, become unpopular, or unnecessary over time. The concept is nothing new, but the aggregate impact on society and the environment, over time, is becoming increasingly devastating.
As noted in Sharon Bender’s article “Is Planned Obsolescence Socially Responsible?” (Engineers Australia, November 1998), a trend emerged as far back as the 1930s: “In the 1930s an enterprising engineer working for General Electric proposed increasing sales of flashlight lamps by increasing their efficiency and shortening their life. Instead of lasting through three batteries he suggested that each lamp last only as long as one battery.”
Think about our cell phones. How many of us eagerly awaited Apple’s announcement of the new iPhone 5S? Will you ultimately replace your current phone with the newer model with the cool gold color? Or, will you be forced to purchase a new phone when the glass screen on your iPhone cracks and Apple tells you it cannot be replaced?
Regardless of the impetus, if and when you purchase your new phone, what happens to the one you discard? What’s the carbon footprint involved in the manufacturing, distribution, and ultimate trashing of multiple cell phones?
The video below (thank you Katie Mata, a former BCOR 3010 student and current friend, for sending me this video) was an eye opener, not just with respect to our cell phones, but for how we live, in general. Think of all the trash we create each day. Where does it go? What harm does it create?