Books which I’ve been ordered from Amazon.com arrive today. There one book that I take and read for the first time. It’s title: “Stuff – The Secret Live of everyday things”. That book is thin, 86 pages only, but information inside it telling story about thousand miles journey of our things from where it belong until where it end.
It start when I was on elementary school, at the first time I’ve known that plastic need hundreds of years to destroyed, sometimes I thought about: “Who is so crazy to create something that can endure hundreds of years but its only use for hours, or maybe seconds??”. Candy pack were only hold for ten seconds on hand, then went to garbage bin, buried underground, and destroyed after the candy eater become fossil.
Hard to imagine, life without plastics, without paints, without soaps, without rubbers, without machines, without gasoline, and without fashions. And as customer in modern trading system, knowledge chain about the beginning and end for everything that we consume have been cut since we was born. We don’t know and don’t trained to care where Styrofoam which pack our bread gone, how much tree which cutting down for newspaper which we only read for half an hour, pollution for season shirts which we bought only for fun.
For daily activities which we past on without thinking, which seems common, have we ever count that to live 24 hours we can expense earth resources several times bigger than our weight?
To clean 200 cc urines, we use 3 litres of water. To wash coffee cup, we need a washbasin of water. To produce a slice burger meat that enough for a half day, need about 2,400 litres of water. Production for one set PC amount 24 kg that stay on our working table also produce 62 kg waste, using 27,574 litres of water, and consumed 2,300 kWh of electricity. How about a little chip inside it? Waste which produce from its production process is 4,500 times heavier from that chip weights.
Knowing about this hidden link could emerge some kind of reactions. We could be frustrated because squeeze in lifestyle which hard to compromise, we also more careless because don’t want to worry about it. Clearly, the time to open this knowledge has come. Nature lesson, beside learning about leaves and frog surgery, could become more specific by learning about start and end from things that we consumed, so responsibility to our nature, have been socialize since childhood.
Have we ever imagine, when we enter a four floor factory outlet building or clothes market, can’t all those clothes and stuff fulfilled all people needs for a city? But why those things never stop to produce? Everyday there are crowd of new clothes which enter the market. Have we ever think, when we enter hypermarket and see hundreds kind of biscuits, hundreds variant of instant noodles, and hundreds of soap brands: should we have choices that much? Have we ever think, what we want actually far more than what we needs?
By the name of sufficiency, one man can live with five pair of clothes or more. By the name of fashion, that amount became unlimited. By the name of needs, a man can live with a few choices of food for a day. By the name style and passion, the whole world will not be able to fulfilled one man wants.
This matter can be seen in some point of view. An economy expert could blame capitalism and globalization. A socialist would say this is about distribution and evenness of distribution. But if we tracing one by one, this world is an association of many nations, nations is association of clans, and clan is association of individuals, this problem will turn back to us. And our awareness and willingness would make possibility for a real change.
Never been in human history, a man decision became so important. No need to wait America agree with Protocol of Kyoto, no need to wait forest destroyer to get arrested, every our step – choose brands, quantity, place, life style – is political and ecological choice which will determine the whole world future.
Right now, I still could not stay away from computer because it is my work instrument, but I’ve more aware with time use and shut it down when don’t need it. I still could not sacrifice needs for information, but I can choose to read news from internet or read newspaper in public places then become a direct customer. How about fashion? In this world of publicity, which profession make me should show in public, I also can’t sacrifice needs for fashion (read: buying more than needs), but I can made a commitment with my cupboard, which is clothes that I have can’t be more than my cupboard capacity. If more, then there is something that should going out. And every month I should facing reality that there are some clothes which I’ve never use for more than a year or a clothes that I only use for one time and never wear it again. Not only clothes, there are books, house things, kitchen stuff, even soap or shampoo which never been touch. In the end, inside my house there are some kind of treasure boxes, which full with stuff that should out, because if it still stay, it just become useless. Those treasure need to get outlet for distribution.
Every 17th August (Celebration of Indonesia Independence Day), in my neighbourhood always run a charity fairs. The citizen rent a stand to selling stuff. I’ve always participated, and I’m the only one used stuff seller between new stuff sellers. Because not for find some profits, I sold those stuff in very cheap price. The buyer is not only the people around, but also from other place. 1st day, I’ve already run out of sell things. Like or not, I should contact my brothers and sisters which probably have used stuff to sell. Same with me, they also have treasure without knowing what it used for. My stand became the most popular at charity time. And my sister so surprise with income that she gets from stuffs that should be garbage.
Selling in charity fairs of course not the only way, there are many other creative ways to use our treasure, including for charity. But it more difficult to began a commitment to strict ourselves. Commitment with books racks, with cupboard, with bathroom, with kitchen, and the most important, our selves. Are we ready to make strict and walk on that corridor.
And the more difficult things is, self control from the beginning when we meet choices which attack us everyday, then aware with the causal link which following our choices. Open mind for info and ecological knowledge is a good beginning. Even it seems make us busy and frustrating, but plastic bag that we throw away this morning won’t be gone by magic, and hamburger that we eat not pick from tree. Link which following those things won’t be gone just because we refuse to know.
Many people give comment to me: “you just make life harder!” Yeah, they are right, life is not easy. That’s why we have to learn to respect it. Life simple, life with slower tempo, life with awareness, not only help us to more controllable, but also help this earth and millions of people that became industrial footwear to fulfilling our own consuming passion.
Evil circles? Yes. But it doesn’t mean we can’t change. All the time we are running buyer. In high speed we do transaction without knowing what we really look for. Stop for a moment. Let’s walk.
Taken from a note by Dewi Lestari
It start when I was on elementary school, at the first time I’ve known that plastic need hundreds of years to destroyed, sometimes I thought about: “Who is so crazy to create something that can endure hundreds of years but its only use for hours, or maybe seconds??”. Candy pack were only hold for ten seconds on hand, then went to garbage bin, buried underground, and destroyed after the candy eater become fossil.
Hard to imagine, life without plastics, without paints, without soaps, without rubbers, without machines, without gasoline, and without fashions. And as customer in modern trading system, knowledge chain about the beginning and end for everything that we consume have been cut since we was born. We don’t know and don’t trained to care where Styrofoam which pack our bread gone, how much tree which cutting down for newspaper which we only read for half an hour, pollution for season shirts which we bought only for fun.
For daily activities which we past on without thinking, which seems common, have we ever count that to live 24 hours we can expense earth resources several times bigger than our weight?
To clean 200 cc urines, we use 3 litres of water. To wash coffee cup, we need a washbasin of water. To produce a slice burger meat that enough for a half day, need about 2,400 litres of water. Production for one set PC amount 24 kg that stay on our working table also produce 62 kg waste, using 27,574 litres of water, and consumed 2,300 kWh of electricity. How about a little chip inside it? Waste which produce from its production process is 4,500 times heavier from that chip weights.
Knowing about this hidden link could emerge some kind of reactions. We could be frustrated because squeeze in lifestyle which hard to compromise, we also more careless because don’t want to worry about it. Clearly, the time to open this knowledge has come. Nature lesson, beside learning about leaves and frog surgery, could become more specific by learning about start and end from things that we consumed, so responsibility to our nature, have been socialize since childhood.
Have we ever imagine, when we enter a four floor factory outlet building or clothes market, can’t all those clothes and stuff fulfilled all people needs for a city? But why those things never stop to produce? Everyday there are crowd of new clothes which enter the market. Have we ever think, when we enter hypermarket and see hundreds kind of biscuits, hundreds variant of instant noodles, and hundreds of soap brands: should we have choices that much? Have we ever think, what we want actually far more than what we needs?
By the name of sufficiency, one man can live with five pair of clothes or more. By the name of fashion, that amount became unlimited. By the name of needs, a man can live with a few choices of food for a day. By the name style and passion, the whole world will not be able to fulfilled one man wants.
This matter can be seen in some point of view. An economy expert could blame capitalism and globalization. A socialist would say this is about distribution and evenness of distribution. But if we tracing one by one, this world is an association of many nations, nations is association of clans, and clan is association of individuals, this problem will turn back to us. And our awareness and willingness would make possibility for a real change.
Never been in human history, a man decision became so important. No need to wait America agree with Protocol of Kyoto, no need to wait forest destroyer to get arrested, every our step – choose brands, quantity, place, life style – is political and ecological choice which will determine the whole world future.
Right now, I still could not stay away from computer because it is my work instrument, but I’ve more aware with time use and shut it down when don’t need it. I still could not sacrifice needs for information, but I can choose to read news from internet or read newspaper in public places then become a direct customer. How about fashion? In this world of publicity, which profession make me should show in public, I also can’t sacrifice needs for fashion (read: buying more than needs), but I can made a commitment with my cupboard, which is clothes that I have can’t be more than my cupboard capacity. If more, then there is something that should going out. And every month I should facing reality that there are some clothes which I’ve never use for more than a year or a clothes that I only use for one time and never wear it again. Not only clothes, there are books, house things, kitchen stuff, even soap or shampoo which never been touch. In the end, inside my house there are some kind of treasure boxes, which full with stuff that should out, because if it still stay, it just become useless. Those treasure need to get outlet for distribution.
Every 17th August (Celebration of Indonesia Independence Day), in my neighbourhood always run a charity fairs. The citizen rent a stand to selling stuff. I’ve always participated, and I’m the only one used stuff seller between new stuff sellers. Because not for find some profits, I sold those stuff in very cheap price. The buyer is not only the people around, but also from other place. 1st day, I’ve already run out of sell things. Like or not, I should contact my brothers and sisters which probably have used stuff to sell. Same with me, they also have treasure without knowing what it used for. My stand became the most popular at charity time. And my sister so surprise with income that she gets from stuffs that should be garbage.
Selling in charity fairs of course not the only way, there are many other creative ways to use our treasure, including for charity. But it more difficult to began a commitment to strict ourselves. Commitment with books racks, with cupboard, with bathroom, with kitchen, and the most important, our selves. Are we ready to make strict and walk on that corridor.
And the more difficult things is, self control from the beginning when we meet choices which attack us everyday, then aware with the causal link which following our choices. Open mind for info and ecological knowledge is a good beginning. Even it seems make us busy and frustrating, but plastic bag that we throw away this morning won’t be gone by magic, and hamburger that we eat not pick from tree. Link which following those things won’t be gone just because we refuse to know.
Many people give comment to me: “you just make life harder!” Yeah, they are right, life is not easy. That’s why we have to learn to respect it. Life simple, life with slower tempo, life with awareness, not only help us to more controllable, but also help this earth and millions of people that became industrial footwear to fulfilling our own consuming passion.
Evil circles? Yes. But it doesn’t mean we can’t change. All the time we are running buyer. In high speed we do transaction without knowing what we really look for. Stop for a moment. Let’s walk.
Taken from a note by Dewi Lestari
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