Life-Cycle

While eating the turkey sandwich from yesterday's garbage, toast from the waste-stream bread, and my friends expired hummus, I was skimming a reading assignment for my Environmental Economic Geography class. The book Worldchanging: A Users Guide for the 21st Century, Has a nice warm-up chapter on STUFF, reminding me about the implication of my purchasing power, and also reminding me how dependent I am on global innovation, labor, and resources. The reading got me thinking about my computer and its associated life-cycle. Technology from Japan, metals mined in Africa, parts molded in China, assembled in Mexico, and distributed to an American hipster...me.

Where in the world does all the food products come from that people are throwing away. Its discouraging to see that someone's hard earned labor being tossed without appreciation. There are many things I take for granted, today, food ain't one of them.

On the way to class I scrounged up some Sun Chips, and a toasty roast beef fajita.

A small sweep of the building with Dan brought an unsuspected snack. He impressed me when he pulled out some cookies from one of the local cans. Also, a McQuarter pounder, part of a bagel, and the remains of a chicken wrap. Earlier, Dan share some left-over pork roast and spuds with me. I had gotten a tip where they were located in the waste stream so I took him along for the sustainability ride. He noted my excitement for finding an apple yesterday, with modest plans on eating it on Saturday.

Well I'm off to make a quick sweep for something tasty, maybe a muffin or some pineapple from Puerto Rico that came all the way to Slippery Rock University, PA, to be put in the trash.

Here's to the over-worked and under-payed workers of the world for sustaining my life...Thanks For Dinner