WASTE
I spent an interesting day at an aircraft repair facility in the Arizona desert. This is a place where airplanes are repaired and refurbished but it is also a place where airplane owners can park them when they are not needed. There were some 200 airplanes parked in the sand. Some will fly again and those were wrapped in some sort of plastic which looked remarkably like the same aluminum foil we all have in our kitchens. Others were forlornly sitting without engines, in some cases without wheels, waiting to be broken down into scrap metal and useful parts. I met a number of interesting people and genuinely enjoyed the trip but I was struck also by the waste I saw around me. Airplanes are expensive, costing many millions of dollars, and some of these airplanes could have been flown away and used. The reason useful airplanes were sitting there was someone's mistake, someone's overestimate of need.
I was raised to think of the old maxims: Waste not, want not; A penny saved is a penny earned. My mother constantly drummed into me how wasteful I was, of food, of recyclables (although we didn't call them that in those days), of money, of time. Of course, I paid no attention and for many years felt free to discard useful items, to over order at restaurants, to store perishable items until they became spoiled, to buy items I didn't really need.
As I've aged, I've begun to think more about waste and wish I had listened more responsively years ago. I have begun to realize that we live in a world of finite resources and that what we waste takes away from others. The food we discard could be eaten by others who really need food. The clothes sitting unused in our closets could be worn by others who really need clothes. The money used to buy and store unnecessary airplanes could be used to build parks, roads, shelters, schools, all the other things society really needs.
Most of us are not in a position to control the big decisions, like what airplanes to buy and how available investment money should be used. But we're all in control of our own decisions, whether to buy the new clothes we may not wear, to order the food we really won't eat, to recycle, to use public transit instead of driving, to use appliances until they wear out. The list could go on and on.
I don't urge that we starve ourselves or deprive ourselves of anything we can afford (although we could all think more about the balance of charitable contributions in our lives). I'm only thinking that in little ways, without hurting ourselves in any way, we can make resources available to those who really need them, who won't survive without them. These little ways fall into the category of avoiding waste.
Once again, the things we do for others will help us the most. Waste not and you'll feel better about yourself. Conserve for yourself and you'll materially aid others.
2-21-00
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