Overdue thoughts

It is close to a month now since this started, and I have generated about a tenth of a pound of trash. The average American generates between 3 - 4.5 pounds of trash per day, equaling 90 - 135 pounds in a month. This has actually been very easy to do, given reasons mentioned in earlier posts.

There is trash generated everywhere, and even in places that you least expect it. Example - Jennifer is in town, and two nights ago, we went to Atlas in Detroit for Detroit Restaurant Week. Everything was going well in our three course meal, until dessert was served. The crème brûlée, served in glass, had a doily between the bowl and the dish.

The eternal debate: needs vs. wants. Wendell Berry has said that our needs are "educated needs." We have been "educated" into turning wants of life into needs, and institutes of higher learning are especially guilty of this. The easy example is technology, and this is such an easy target. Maybe a less obvious example is the need of educated people to travel and have diverse experiences in order to have legitimacy and acceptance of their views, opinions, and social standing. Being an educated person, or academic, or graduate student, you need to and must travel to be accepted into respective communities.

What do you think?