prioritizing plastics key to kicking oil addiction

7/28/2019 Prioritizing Plastics Key to Kicking Oil Addiction

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The only solution is to collect it all; it will remain for a millennia otherwise. Photo:Zianub Razvivia

flickr.

Disposable Plastics Must Go, Period...

The first way we need to address our plastic usage is acknowledging that disposable plastic products (with

perhaps a few exceptions, medical usage pops to mind) are the most inane and inappropriate use of the

material. To expend all that energy into extracting oil, or even raising plants for bioplastics, and then

turning it into a material that never biodegrades, clogs waterways, and fills landfills, and yet using it in

one-time use applications is absolutely ludicrous. Only by entirely ignoring what happens to the material

once its intended lifetime is over is there any sense in it.

Some of the solution to this is habitual--getting out of the habit of using disposable plastics products, be

they cups or pens or cling wrap, and favoring product reuse and heirloom design--while some of it is

bigger. If we place even a modicum of effort into it, more environmentally friendly, yet durable solutions to

very nearly every current use of disposable plastic can be developed. From packaging to end product, this is

a problem that design and technology can indeed fully solve. We don't need massive policy changes to

accomplish it.

But Plastic May Still Be The Right Material For The Job, Sometimes

The second way is to recognize that when we want a product to last for generations and/or absolutely

requires the uniquely durable and malleable characteristics of the material, then plastics may well be the

best solution--provided we close the loop from manufacturing to disposal so that plastic pollution can be

reigned in.
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It may go against the conventional wisdom of the green

community--especially in the middle of the gulf oil spill, plusone in the Yellow Sea off the coast of China--

but in certain situations the benefits of using plastic probably outweigh the risks.

Thehippo water rollerpictured above at left may be one of the most appropriate uses of plastic out there-

-lasting forever and radically reducing the workload of people using it to fetch water. Photo:Cristina

Bejaranovia flickr.

Plastic Needn't & Shouldn't Be The Default Material ChoiceWhich isn't to say that for many, many uses where plastic use is now the norm we couldn't or shouldn't use

all-natural materials, we absolutely should. But there still may be times when plastic is appropriate. If we

radically reduce our use of oil in other areas of our society, and abolish through habit and design the use of

nearly all disposable plastics, then the plastic use which remains will far less of a waste disposal or

pollution issue.

A rough way to think about it (exceptions occur always): If it's disposable = nearly never use plastic and

ensure recycling of waste. If it's non-disposable = is there a non-oil based material that will work as well

and doesn't have the disposal issues or some other outweighing energy use or environmental concern? If so

then use it. If not, and the product is both intended to last a lifetime or longer and needs the material

characteristics of plastic, then perhaps use it--provided disposal is taken fully into consideration.
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Want to Kick Our OilAddiction? Let's Get Our

Priorities Straight First

Mat McDermott

Business/Corporate Responsibility

July 14, 2010

photo:Joost J Bakkervia flickr

You'd have to be living in a cave since the beginning of the BP oil spill to not have heard, or made,

statements about never letting this sort of environmental disaster happen again andkicking our oil

addiction. There have even been checklists 50 items deep of ways you can use less oil. Before we act on that

sentiment, (and let me be clear that we will be using less oil in the future, whether by choice, by supply

shortages, or a combination of these), we need to get our priorities straight. Where are we using the most

oil, and how can we decrease that? This Will Be A Long TransitionBefore we begin though, let me add that transitioning off oil isn't something which is going to happen

overnight--we're talking a decades-long transition. Petroleum is so thoroughly embedded into all aspects of

modern life, that it's not really possible for any individual to give up using oil. Using less or no oil is

something that has to happen at a national level, even if popular pressure can start the zeitgeist shift.

Nearly Three Quarters of Oil Goes to Transportation

A short while ago Good Magazine ran a nicely clearchart of how the US consumes oil. Here are the top line

stats, some of which you may know:

Currently the US uses about 19.7 million barrels of oil a day (23% of the world total demand, for roughly

4% of global population). Of that, 71% goes to transportation via cars, trucks, buses, airplanes; 23% goes to

industrial purposes (manufacturing, plastics, chemicals, etc); the remaining 6% goes to residential and
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commercial uses, plus a small amount of electricity generation. Those stats are so skewed that it's worth

stating it plainly again.

71% of all oil use in the United States goes to transporting ourselves, the things we buy, and the things we

eat. That's not the goods themselves, mind you, just moving them around, and moving ourselves so we can

consume them. If we're really going to start consuming less oil, this is where we ought to be putting most of

our effort.

Technological Change Part of Solution...

How do we transform our transportation? At a technical level this topic is well covered on TreeHugger and

pretty much every other green website.Electrifying small motorized vehicles, shifting long haul vehicles

tonatural gas, usingbiofuels in aviationas much as possible, cleaner burning fuels in shipping, all can play

a part.

Very crudely: More of this... photo:Poom!via flickr.
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And less of this... photo:Alexvia flickr.

...But Creating Different Communities the Bigger PartOn a policy level though, the issue is less flashy, and doesn't quite hold people's attention the way a shiny(!)

new (!) Tesla (vroom) does. Which is too bad, because if we want to really use less oil, we have to construct

our communities, our product manufacture and distribution chains so that less daily travel is needed. So

the average person doesn't need to own a car at all. We have to createmore walkable and bikeable

communities. Beyond that we need to re-localize and regionalize economic activity for all those goods

which can be produced in this way--recognizing that not everything can or should.

Normally framed as a quality of life issue, when it comes down to it, creating more communities where the

average person's daily needs are met on foot, on non-motorized vehicle and via public transportation, is the

most critical piece of using less oil.

Entire careers can be devoted to developing more pedestrian-friendly communities, so a few sentences

here obviously won't suffice. But more than most everything else, this is what government policy and social

norms have to begin supporting.

Personally Get Off Oil by Driving & Flying Less, Walking & Biking More

Where does personal action come in? Back at the start of the spill, the Nature Conservancy ran the

numbers and found that if, on average, if everyonecut their daily driving down by 5.4 miles, the US could

forego drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. That's a good first step on the individual level. Another one: Biking to

work at least one day a week and then trying to expand it. Get that down and then move on to moving

closer to where you work, and moving to a more human-scale community.

Again, drilling this into your head, nearly three quarters of oil usage in the US goes to moving ourselves

and the things we buy around. Reducing the amount of oil-based products you use is a good thing for many

reasons--waste, pollution, health--but even better than that is changing the way and how far you and these

goods are transported.

Like this? Follow me onTwitterandFacebook.

More on Oil,Walkable Communities & Transportation:

50 Years of Selling America Oil (Video)

US Military: Massive Oil Shortages as Soon as 2015
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Dense, Walkable Urban Cities Create YIMBY Neighbors

Ten Reasons Not To Bike To Work: All Debunked, Threefold

In Transition: The Transition Movement Documentary
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prioritizing plastics key to kicking oil addiction

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