The striking universality of human wastefulness

Warning: This journal entry was abandoned because it was going nowhere. Read at your own risk/leisure/if you’re really, really bored. Most generally, it is a comment on how people can allow bad things to happen.

June 8th

I was quite astounded to hear from my girlfriend, who was studying abroad in Kenya, that she and her classmates were getting drunk and high on weeknights and on the weekend. In a corner of the world where malnutrition and disease ravaged populations, I didn’t know how anyone could afford beer or buy pot.

But I think there are a number of elements intrinsic in human nature that allow this scenario to be the case, always.

First, the disparity which humans are willing to allow between those with above average means to accomplish their goals (which is awarded with capitol), and those who have less than average means. This can be restated by the capitolist as the differing abilities in people to survive and thrive.

Strike that, because I’d like to immediately discredit that point. I think a strong argument can be made for efficiency that the people with the most successfull means for generating income also should be the most efficient at effectively minimizing their amount of waste. Generally, if you’re most capable of responsibly generating income, then you’re more able to have a perspective that a person should make an attempt to minimize their own wastefulness. In a proactive senses: eat right, exercise, sleep and drink water; don’t burn trash, recycle, reuse and walk to work.

Unfortunately, I think that there is something inherently discrediting about money that prevents it from being an accurate marker of how ‘successful’ someone’s ‘means’ are. Obviously, just because a person is capable of making money doesn’t mean they’re also capable of living a responsible life: industrialists pollute, priests rape children, presidents have extramarital affairs.

Although this topic is terribly sprawling, I would like to re-generalize my initial point—the disparities—and claim that my original point would better be summarized by the inability of people to maintain perspective. If people aren’t aware of what they’re doing to the environment—if society is there to distract them and connive them into living a lifestyle that is reckless and damaging to their environment (and eventually their offspring—hello, fecundity and reproductive success)—then it will always be difficult to convince people to ‘minimize’ waste to a level that I deem necessary.

The only reason I bring this up is because I can’t believe how polluting Nairobi is, even though it’s hardly the industrial center that cities it’s size are in America. The cars here have no regulations on emissions, and the busses kick diesel like it’s nobodies business; I got nauseous today just because I sat by the roadside for too long.