Ever since the late 1800s our United States has been the foremost, most powerful and the dominant country in the world. We enjoy vast lakes, mountains, plains, forests, long navigable rivers and the protection of giant bodies of water. Our diverse population has been innovative and industrious making major contributions in virtually every technical, scientific and literary field. We have been benevolent and helpful to a host of destitute countries and those faced with environmental and health emergencies. For many years and at multiple levels we were the undisputed leader in the world.
Where are we now?
- OECD’s PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) for15 year olds ranks the U.S. 6th in reading, 10th to16th in science, and 26th in math.
- According to the UN Population Division, the U.S, ranks 62nd in the world in life expectancy
- On infant mortality we rank 33rd among the 38 OECD countries!!
But we are # 1 in a few things.
- We have more Billionaires than any country (989)
- We spend more on healthcare than any country, by a wide margin, $15,474 annually per person.
- We have the highest military spending in the world (Our 2026 defense budget is $1 Trillion)
- We have the highest incarceration rate among large, wealthy industrialized countries (540-580 per 100,000 residents)
And we are the most wasteful country in the world at 1800-2100 pounds per person per year.
Let’s talk about waste:
Paper Products:
- We produce 12% of the world’s paper waste- – with just 4% of the world’s population
- We consume 4-7 trees each year per person in making paper and wood products – – that’s 1.4 – 2.4 billion trees. Thankfully, 46 million tons of paper, 60-68%, is recycled into cardboard and other products
- Most of us pay our routine bills on-line somehow. Yet we still get invoices, sometimes multiple pages, when one page would be ample, together with envelopes, which we don’t need and trash. Why is “This page intentionally left blank”?
- Charitable organizations solicit support and, indeed, should be supported, but one donation often triggers, by return mail, another request with all of the flyers, pictures, note pads, or greeting cards, much of which is again trashed. How many of us send a second donation a month after the first?
- I personally trash over 80% of my mail before I enter the house.
Food products:
- 30-40% of food produced in America is wasted. The EPA estimated that in 2021 91 billion tons, was thrown away, about 550 pounds/person, costing a family of 4 about $1500/year.
- Servings in restaurants typically are so large that much is left to be trashed, and even when leftovers are taken home, quite often a good portion is trashed at home.
- Many typically buy more food stuff than they immediately need. A good deal is often time expired before use, and is therefore trashed.
- We discard many, still good and safe, food items for lack of understanding the date labels: “Sell By”, Best Before”, “Best By”, “Use By”, “Expiration Date”.
- Discarded food in dumps creates harmful methane gas, bad for people and bad for the environment – U,S. Dept. of Agriculture.
Water:
- The EPA Partnership Program estimates that the average household loses some 10,000 gallons of water annually from leaks, faulty appliances and misuse. That’s one trillion gallons per year nationwide. This is in addition to swimming pools, irrigation systems, water that is used for growing food that is later thrown away, etc.
Energy:
- The U.S. is second in the world in energy use at about 4,535 Terawatt-hours per year. China uses twice as much, but with four times our population.
- In most places we tend to keep our indoor temperatures uncomfortably cool. I live in Florida where today the outdoor temperature is 95 degrees but many of us take a sweater to a restaurant, or store or clinic.
- Lowering the temperature just 1 degree Fahrenheit adds approximately 3% to the electric bill.
- According to the Argonne National Laboratories we waste around 6 billion gallons of gas/diesel fuel per year idling our vehicles. This can, and should, be substantially reduced by E-cars and hybrids, but also by “Smart” traffic lights. An investment in smart traffic lights must have an attractive return.
We seem to place a higher priority on reducing manpower than on reducing waste.
We have the know-how and the ability to do better. Do we have the resolve?
– – – – Just the view of a common man
Views of a Common Man 