Tunza: The UNEP Magazine for Youth, Volume 7, Number 2, 2009 Page: 3
23 p. : col. ill.View a full description of this periodical.
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Just
S
aY
n o!We all agree that recycling is a good thing. But while
transforming, say, a newspaper into an egg carton saves
on pollution, landfill and raw materials - not to mention
carbon emissions - recycling processes still gobble up
precious resources like energy and water. And no matter
how diligently we recycle, its still just a dent in the mountain
of waste were constantly generating.
The concept of precycling helps tackle the problem of over-
consumption before it begins, avoiding the need to recycle
in the first place. Precycling means stopping to think, before
you buy: Do I really need this item? What effect did/will its
production have on Earth? What do I already have that might
be altered? And so on. Eventually, if enough people stop
buying stuff, other people will have no incentive to make it.
Here are a few ideas to start with:
* Try to buy products with minimaL packaging, and opt for
recycLabLe packaging -paper and gLass rather than pLastic,
for exampLe. Let manufacturers and shops know you prefer
Less packaging.
* Carry reusabLe shopping bags and smaLLer cLoth bags for
weighing produce.
* Try mending or buying second-hand items before
purchasing a new product. If you must buy new, go for high
quaLity, so that it Lasts Longer.
* Rent or Lease products, especiaLLy appLiances and eLec-
tronics, rather than buying them. Research has shown that
when responsibiLity for products endswith the manufacturers,
they have an incentive to make them more sustainabLe.
* Carry a kit with utensiLs, cLoth napkins, and a drinks bottLe
and/or cup when going out to avoid producing waste when
eating out.
* A borrower be: pooL some tooLs, toys or books with your
neighbours and start a community Lending Library.
* Buy food in Large sizes or in buLk to decant into smaLLer
reusabLe containers as needed. This saves on individuaL
packaging and money.
* Grow your own vegetabLes and herbs.
Need inspiration? Watch the 20-minute animated fiLm The
Story of Stuff (www.storyofstuff.com), a Look at the reaLities
of the production, consumption and waste cycLe.EDITORIAL
ust three short months are left of what may well
prove to be the most important year in history,
culminating in what is probably the most crucial
international meeting to date. For the Copenhagen
Climate Change Conference, which takes place in
December, and the negotiations that are preceding it all
year, will decide the future both of humanity and of the
planet itself. Reaching an ambitious and comprehensive
agreement there on reducing global emissions of carbon
dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases may well be
the last chance that the world has of avoiding not just
dangerous, but catastrophic, climate change.
The world financial crisis has made reaching agreement
harder, as national leaders think of their economies first.
But in fact it should make it easier, for the answers to the
financial and climate crises - and to the energy crisis fast
coming up behind them - lie in the same direction. Clean
technology, and particularly renewable energy, offers the
most promising prospect for producing a sustainable
and growing world economy. It already constitutes a $4.5
trillion market, while last year investments in renewable
energy for the first time exceeded those in fossil fuels
and nuclear power worldwide. Green technologies are
also labour-intensive, providing plenty of good employ-
ment, much more than is offered by more traditional
technologies. The International Labour Organisation says
that projected investments in renewable energy alone
could create another 20 million jobs by 2030, with another
12 million arising from producing biomass for energy and
related industries.
For the last year UNEP has been calling for a Global
Green New Deal, where stimulus packages are targeted at
providing jobs and sustainable growth through greening
the world economy. Some countries, most notably the
Republic of Korea, have wholeheartedly embraced the
concept and others have devoted varying proportions of
their recovery packages to it. But much more needs to
be done, and a strong enough agreement in Copenhagen
could itself provide an enormous stimulus by pointing
countries and economies towards a new, low-carbon
future. Governments must 'seal the deal' on climate in
December, and then move on to building a prosperous
green future.The road to Copenhagen 3
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Lean, Geoffrey. Tunza: The UNEP Magazine for Youth, Volume 7, Number 2, 2009, periodical, 2009; Nairobi, Kenya. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc28566/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .