(It put my first comment into moderation mode, so this seems out of order now)

Of course, all of this will mean jack diddly squat if people don’t want to think about what they’re doing.

One example, compact fluorescent bulbs. Sure, they cost a little more, but the energy savings are massive on the power grid…especially if we ALL used such things. Imagine a 60-75% reduction in lighting power consumption across the COUNTRY. That’s a huge energy savings. But, by and large, people don’t see the value in the shift. From an economic perspective, I have had the bulbs last 3-5 years, so I believe they are definitely a worthwhile investment.

Anyway…lots of thoughts, little space.

I suppose if we were to have regulation, we should simply issue a sweeping regulation that companies who develop products should consider “birth to death” scenarios that many other companies already must consider. Not only design for use, but design for the “death” of the product. I.e., how it will break down in a landfill, or how it can be recycled, etc.

I agree…it’s a vexing problem. One very simple start would be to reduce our water bottle consumption. I don’t have the numbers on me right now, but it’s ridiculous. All these deluded people around me who have NO idea how blessed they are to have a clean water supply that won’t kill you straight out of the tap. And if they really wanted, they could simply add an on-tap water filter. Or, buy water bottles in the 5 gallon sizes, and keep a dispenser at home. Those bottles are washed and refilled…minimizing waste. Millions or billions of pounds of plastic are wasted on this pointless exercise.