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As far as we know, there is not another planet in our universe that can do what
Earth is able to do, namely, support oxygen breathing, carbon-based organisms that
require potable water for survival. Since human beings are such organisms, we
need to accept that there aren¶t any viable alternatives to making life on Earth
work. Therefore, every human being must be made to understand, as early in their
lives as possible, that Earth¶s natural resources and all things made from natural
resources are precious and must be preserved because the supply of nonrenewable
natural resources upon which humans rely for survival is limited to what exists on
and within planet Earth, and when they¶re used up, we¶re done. Of course,
humanity may never have to worry about that eventuality, because Earth¶s capacity
for absorbing the pollution humans are creating may be exhausted first, and we¶ll
have already expired from suffocation due to Earth¶s unbreathable air or from our
inability to tolerate the increasing heat caused by global warming.
Due to ignorance or eternal optimism, most people dismiss these doomsday
scenarios as scare tactics, because none of the predictions indicate that any of these
things are likely to happen today or tommorow or next year or during their
lifetime, and that¶s all most of us are concerned about. On the other hand, it is
ingrained in our nature to propogate our genes in order to insure our species¶
immortality, so shouldn¶t each of us be concerned about protecting the well being
of our own future generations? Unless we insure, as much as possible, that Earth¶s
living environment will support them, why should we bring more children into this
world and force them to face an unpleasant existence of making do with limited
resources while trying to survive in an ever more toxic environment?
What¶s the alternative? Convince all humans alive today that limiting their
consumption of natural resources will insure that some is left for generations to
come. Why not limit ourselves to consuming only that which is adequate to
sustain a universally accepted standard of living and do everything we can to
extend the useful life of all the durable products made from natural resources we
use to make life easier? Diminishing the need for new products reduces the
depletion of natural resources. Furthermore, since Earth¶s ability to absorb
pollution is finite, why aren¶t humans doing everything they can to reduce the
amount of environmental pollution they create as a byproduct of their efforts to
maintain a satisfactory lifestyle? As explained previously, too much
environmental pollution will eventually overwhelm Earth¶s ability to absorb it, and
when that happens, humanity¶s survival will become problematic.
In order to get everyone to pay attention to these matters, a movement must be
started that enlists people into a worldwide organization which is commited to
encouraging everyone to willingly limit their consumption of natural resources and
the products made from natural resources to that which is adequate to sustain a
universally accepted standard of living. Unfortunately, living by example is only
somewhat effective in influencing others to do likewise. Consequently, it is also
necessary to be proactive in encouraging everyone with whom you have influence
to follow your example.
Imagine how much of a reduction in the depletion Earth¶s natural resources and the
pollution of Earth¶s living environment would result if everyone willingly limited
the clothing they own to the amount needed to sustain a universally accepted
standard of living, and they limited the other accoutrements of their lifestyle to one
non-polluting, energy-efficient dwelling, one non-polluting, energy-efficient mode
of transportation and one each of the various non-polluting, energy-efficient
implements needed to accomplish the various activities associated with
maintaining one's household as well as their physical well being and productivity.
Cohabitation by multiple individuals within one dwelling should also be
encouraged in order to further reduce consumption of natural resources and the
products made from natural resources.
In order to minimize the amount of clothing consumed by each individual, there
should also be a worldwide expectation that everyone consume only nutritious
food in the amounts limited to that which is needed to maintain their body in its
optimum functional condition and that they exercise their body to the extent
needed to maintain muscle and bone functionality as well as physical stability.
Adherence to these expectations are intended to minimize a person¶s need to
replace clothing due to significant changes in one¶s physique, but since a person's
body grows and shrinks with age and activity and there are maladies that affect a
person's physique, some method for dealing with these kinds of changes would
have to be implemented so individuals could adjust their wardrobe to
accommodate physique changes without having to acquire new garments.
One option is to have alterations made, and there are plenty of people who are able
to do that kind of work, but it takes time, and in today¶s social environment, time is
of the essense. Furthermore, for some, continuing to wear something they¶ve
owned for a while is distasteful, particularly if fashions have changed. And then
there are those who are affluent enough to purchase new clothing just because they
can and shopping is what they do to pass the time.
Think how much fewer natural resources and the products made from natural
resources would be consumed if people with extra money refrained from spending
it on durable goods they don¶t need to sustain themselves comfortably.
Extravagance is self serving and irresponsible, and it results in needless reduction
of available natural resources. On the other hand, variety is the spice of life.
Therefore, in order to enable people to attain variety and to stimulate their
willingness to comply with the expectation that durable goods be kept in use until
they are worn to the point they can¶t be restored for a reasonable cost, there should
be a way people can exchange things when they desire a change and be able to
obtain an item that would have been restored to like-new condition. Unfortunately,
there is no organization presently in existence that provides that kind of service.
Therefore it would be necessary for interprising entrepreneurs to establish
exchange stores in delineated areas all around the world, then stock their stores
with every kind of durable good that consumers in their area regularly purchase. In
the beginning most products would likely have to be bought new, but some owners
may choose to invite investors to contribute refurbishable items and/or money in
return for shares of stock in the enterprise. The objective is to build an inventory
of goods that people would be able to acquire by exchanging a used item they
already own for the same kind of item that is either brand new or has been restored
to brand new condition.
The exchange store concept is simple. When someone wishes to replace
something they already own with a similar item that¶s in better condition or is
more functionally effective or is simply different from the item being replaced,
they would bring the item to the exchange store and have exchange store personnel
evaluate the condition of item and estimate the cost of the repairs, part replacement
and sanitation that would be required to restore it to like-new condition. The
person wishing to make the exchange would then select the item they want as a
replacement and they would be charged the estimated cost to recondition the item
they brought in plus a handling fee.
If a person brings in an item to be exchanged and the exchange has no
reconditioned item that is comparable to the item the person wants to exchange, the
person can opt to exchange their item for a replacement that is brand new provided
they are willing to pay the new item price less the estimated ³as is´ value of the
item being exchanged. If that cost is too much, then the alternative is to have the
item they brought in reconditioned instead of exchanging it, while the cost to the
customer will be less, the customer will have to do without the item for the length
of time required to recondition it.
To summarize, the durable product exchange system provides people with a way to
honor the expectation that they not discard any durable item they own until it has
no remaining usability. If an item with remaining usability breaks, it must be fixed
and used until it wears out, then it must recycled so its reusable materials can be
claimed and put to another use, or it must be exchanged for a replacement as
discussed previously. If a product is packaged in some sort of durable container,
the container must be recycled, and in order to insure that such containers are
recycled rather than discarded, a person will be required to return the empty
container for any perishable product they¶ve previously used up before they will be
allowed to purchase a replacement. If the product in a recyclable container is non-
perishable like motor oil, then the returned container must contain the used product
being replaced. Obviously, for these kinds of recycling requirements to work, the
durable product exchange would also have to serve as the collector and processor
of recyclable materials. In addition, there would need to be verifiable trail of
documentation which proves that consumers and the exchange stores are in
compliance with these expectations.
Another aspect of conserving natural resources and minimizing pollution created
by human activities involves the need to continuously improve the performance of
durable products that require an external energy source. Since manufacturers are
expected to constantly improve the durability, energy efficiency and effectiveness
of the motorized products they make, consumers are constantly faced with the
dilemma of deciding whether to keep using a product they already own that is less
efficient, effective and/or durable or trade it in for an improved version. The
solution is to require manufacturers to make only one version of each product and
if that product has replaceable parts, to design the product so that all parts involved
in making the product more efficient and/or effective can be replaced with parts
that produce improvements in that product's efficiency and effectiveness without
having to reconstruct the whole product. This will allow less durable, less efficient
and/or less effective parts of a product to be upgraded while enabling the product
itself to remain in service indefinitely thereby extending its useful life and reducing
the consumption of natural resources which would otherwise be consumed during
the manufacture of new whole product replacements neccesitated by advances in
efficiency and effectiveness.

Reducing the need to produce new products will also reduce consumption of fuel
used during the harvesting, transporting and converting of natural resources into
components and/or end products, and it will reduce the consumption of fuel used to
distribute these manufactured items to their various destinations. Secondarily,
reductions in fuel consumption will reduce the volume of hazardous residues being
produced by fuel combustion as well as the expenditure of non-renewable
resources used to capture and/or eliminate these residues and/or counteract the
effect these residues have on the health and well being of human beings and/or
Earth's ecology. Furthermore, when new products are made from materials that are
derivatives of oil and gas, like, for example, plastics and synthetic cloth, not only
are the aforementioned reductions realized when fewer new products are produced,
the hazardous residues from the processes used to manufacture these synthetic
materials will also be reduced.
Obviously, all these proposed changes are radical departures from the way things
are done today in the areas of the world where people can afford to be extravagent.
So what would happen if such requirements were imposed worldwide? Economies
would become less driven by consumerism and by the marketing/advertising
industry whose business it is to stimulate and encourage consumerism. Replacing
retail outlets with all-emcompassing exchange stores as described previously
would eliminate the need for advertising and eliminating the infinite variety in
products produced would eliminate consumerism. Manufacturers would no longer
produce new products except as replacements for existing products that can no
longer be upgraded with improved parts which enable them to continue operating
as effectively and efficiently as a new product would. Consequently, the purpose
that durable goods satisfy in life would be to accomplish life¶s necessary tasks in
the most effective way possible while minimizing the amount of natural resources
consumed and the waste produced during their creation as well as throughout their
useful life. All that that would be left to do would be to change the way Earth¶s
natural resources are owned and distributed so that all Earth¶s human population
has what they need to sustain their well-being and viability, but that¶s a subject
already addressed in the essay entitled ³Sharing Earth and Its Resources So
Everyone Benefits Equally´.