I have some numbers about the amount of trash we generate. It’s disgusting, and every time I see yet another product designed to be used once then thrown out, I shudder. We’re like a swarm of roaches, consuming everything in our path and leaving behind a wake of spoiled resources.
By the year 2005 the US was generating 250 million tons of garbage per year. 4.5 pounds, per person, per day.
http://www.calvert-henderson.com/enviro-waste.htm
In 1995 27% of the United States’ food supply spoiled or went unusd (48,000,000 tons).
Man-made rubbish in orbit includes 8,500 objects and 100,000 pieces of space litter.
74,200 fans at Super Bowl XXX generated 75 tons of trash in Sun Devil Stadium in Phoenix, while 72,000 fans at Super Bowl XXXI generated 68 tons at the Superdome in New Orleans. At Super Bowl XXXII in Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, 70 tons of trash was generated by 68,000 fans.
Every year Americans buy more than a billion incandescent light bulbs. That is three acres of light bulbs a day. A 60-watt incandescent light bulb will last about 750 hours, compared to 7,500 to 10,000 hours that a compact fluorescent bulb that generates the same light.
An average child will use between 8 -10,000 disposable diapers ($2,000 worth) before being potty trained. Each year parents and babysitters dispose of about 18 billion of these items. In the United States alone these single-use items consume nearly 100,000 tons of plastic and 800,000 tons of tree pulp. We will pay an average of $350 million annually to deal with their disposal and, to top it off, these diapers will still be in the landfill 300 years from now.
Americans throw away 570 diapers per second. That’s 49 million diapers per day.
http://www.co.cass.in.us/ccswd/trivia.htm
What CAN we do? @rooeytoo and @SeventhSense have the right idea. Unless you’re willing to really get into it and get involved with campaigning and trying to start a movement, there really isn’t much else. Did I mention that people are apathetic? We care theoretically, but mostly not enough to get off our asses and take definitive action. That’s human nature.