the toy only represents about five percent of the materials used and discarded
This is one of the main thought-changing points I took away from the permaculture design course I took last year: An item doesn't simply represent itself, it represents everything that went into making it. "Embedded energy" is the shorthand I use for this. I can look at a sheet of aluminum foil and think to myself, "What's the embedded energy of this item?" How much gas or oil was used to mine the aluminum, to smelt it, to roll it flat, to ship it to me, etc? What factory had to be built to make that happen?" I like thinking about things this way; it hasn't stopped me from consuming, but I do think I'm more careful than I was before.
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Date: 2007-04-11 04:55 pm (UTC)This is one of the main thought-changing points I took away from the permaculture design course I took last year: An item doesn't simply represent itself, it represents everything that went into making it. "Embedded energy" is the shorthand I use for this. I can look at a sheet of aluminum foil and think to myself, "What's the embedded energy of this item?" How much gas or oil was used to mine the aluminum, to smelt it, to roll it flat, to ship it to me, etc? What factory had to be built to make that happen?" I like thinking about things this way; it hasn't stopped me from consuming, but I do think I'm more careful than I was before.