Keep That Clunker!

Dan Shapley wrote an article for "The Daily Green" discussing the results of two studies done by Joshuah Stolaroff about the greenhouse gases formed by the production and discarding of "stuff." Look at this pie chart: Shapley writes, "The reports have the same conclusion: the stuff we buy and the packaging that comes with the stuff we buy represent our biggest contribution to global warming – far more so than the amount of electricity our stuff uses, or the amount of fuel our stuff burns on the highway.

As a nation, the products we buy, and the plastic and paper those products are packaged in, account for 44% of our greenhouse gas emissions – dwarfing all other sources of pollution. It's all about stuff. Good stuff, bad stuff, fuel-efficient stuff, organic stuff: The problem is too much stuff."

"... but Stolaroff's studies suggest that the types of products we buy and how much stuff we buy in the first place matter most. Choosing to buy products made from recycled materials, that can be repaired or recycled -- or choosing to rent what we don't need to buy ... these amount to some of the most important choices we make for the environment."

If you want to read the article for yourself click *here*, but first congratulate us on keeping our old blue car chugging along all these years. It's 22 years old and still carrying Saeed all around town. Stick that in your pie chart and smoke it!