- The average baby uses 10,000 diapers before being toilet trained. Each year, 1,000,000,000 trees go to the use of making diapers.
- By the age of six months, the average Canadian consumes the same amount of resources as a person in the developing world does in their entire lives.
- North America has eight percent of the world’s population, consumes 33 percent of the world’s resources, and produces half of the world’s non-organic garbage.
- Only one percent of all the water on Earth is usable. Only two percent is in the poles, the rest is in the oceans.
- The average North American throws away 600 times their weight in garbage during their life.
- Canadians produce seven million tons of organic waste each year, 66 percent of which is compostable. In fact 70 percent of all landfill waste is recyclable or re-usable, and 35 percent of municipal solid waste is packaging.
Filed under: Opinion | Tagged: atlas bear, craig and layla baird, craig baird, craig baird layla baird, environment, environment statistics, environmental generation, layla and craig baird, layla baird, Our Green Year, the green couple
These are sobering statistics. What is more sobering is that these sorts of facts have so little effect on the way individuals live their lives.
The prevalent attitude amongst most people is that their efforts will make little difference and so they leave it to everyone else. This is the sort of thinking that will eventually spell the end of life on earth.
I know I’m wasting my time trying to fight you useless hippies, and normally I’d read something like this and just let it go but occasionally I read something so absurd I feel the need to intervene.
For a baby to use 10,000 diapers it would need to use 3 a day for about 9 years (assuming 365 x 3 is approximately 1000) Kids don’t wear diapers until they’re 9 thus rendering you a complete dolt. Do you even think when you write? How about reading what you’ve just written? You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about, but then again, neither does anybody that blogs about the environment. For what it’s worth, the earth is fine, if the use of diapers offends you so much, try to invent an alternative (yes i know there are washable diapers, they’re disgusting) instead of gabbing about them. Don’t just condemn things, find alternatives.
Don’t you love it when people shoot off at the mouth without finding some way to back up their ramblings? If you got a problem with the 10,000 diaper statistics, talk to CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/05/16/f-consumer-disposablediapers.html
In regards to alternatives, heard of biodegradable diapers? Sure cloth diapers are disgusting but its part of being a parent, like picking up crap after your dog is part of being a dog owner.
You are right, the Earth is fine. Those crazy extinctions going on, the fact that over 100 million people in the United States breathe polluted air or the fact that most of the fresh water we have is polluted, that means the Earth is fine.
So anyone who cares about the environment is a hippie? I wonder if David Suzuki knew that.
Thanks for the “groovy” comment, far out man.
ha ha! I wouldn’t take Seriously? very seriously. Three diapers a day!!! I seriously laughed out loud when I read that. This is either wishful thinking or something that would mean child welfare involvement. It was impossible to take anything seriously after reading that.
As for greener diapering alternatives, there are some great ones. We are using compostable diapers. Certainly not as good as cloth diapers, but putting no waste in a landfill is definitely better than the alternative.
The facts are sobering, and obviously scare people. It is also a fact that we can do something about these things, with or without people like Seriously?
I for one am sobered and terrified Shelagh, perhaps I should donate some money to someone to ease my worries, do you accept paypal? As for you both questioning my questioning of your diaper statistics, i did check out the CBC link and found no mention of 10,000 diapers per child, I did however discover this little excerpt on diaper usage throughout childhood;
* From 1 to 3 months: 5 to 9 diapers a day
* From 4 to 5 months: 4 to 7 diapers a day
* From 6 to 12 months: 3 to 6 diapers a day
* From 12 to 24 months: 2 to 4 diapers a day
Source: http://www.babysstory.com/baby/html/how_many_diapers_does_a_baby_u.htm
Seems legit;
Now if you do the math here which i did, assuming 30 days per month and averaging the amount of diapers per day displayed i discovered that this accounts for approximately 2,880 diapers used over this 2 year period. Most kids no longer need diapers by 2.5 years old, but if we say fuck it lets make that 4 years old and then add on an extra 2 years of 3 diapers a day we get to 4380 diapers which only puts the amount you quoted off by a factor of fucking 2 although realistically it’s more like 4. Translation, your number is 4 times to much. As for “crazy extinctions” I’d like to point out that extinctions are a natural part of evolution although i agree that we are putting pressure on a lot of ecosystems and have caused a few. Air pollution? sure but what’s the alternative, renewables are pipe dreams that will never have the capacity to power human infrastructure so the choice is, polluted air but good infrastructure, or clean air and no infrastructure. Face it hombres you’re both just useless easily influenced people with an unwarranted sense of self importance. Humanity doesn’t need you. Oh hey, since I’m typing, what did you guys make of those emails that surfaced from within the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia? yup, human caused global warming – total bullshit. Feel free not to reply, I wasted way more time than i should have on this comment and feel that i’ve obliterated you both to a suitable level.
Have a good day and keep on blogging.
I will leave it at this:
1. Figure out how to use your “Find” command on that article and you will see it says:
“At first she was concerned about cost, given that the average baby uses between 6,000 and 10,000 disposable diapers during a three-year period.”
Also, my article actually cites sources, yours, not so much.
2. Extinctions are happening at a fast rate, and it is because of humans. Also, they are a natural part of evolution over a long period of time, not in one century, unless of course an asteroid has impacted the planet, or methane explosions have erupted killing off most of the life on the planet.
3. Renewables a pipe dream? Ya that makes sense. The sun gives us enough energy in a year to power our civilization for 1,000 years and all we need to do is harness it. Not to mention tidal power, geothermal power, wind power, hydro power, should i go on? Go over to Europe and Iceland where they use a lot of renewable energy, yet seem to have good infrastructure.
4. Humanity does not need me? All I can say to that is anyone who listens more to a couple of ‘climatologists’ at the University of East Anglia, and not the thousands of climatologists who helped put together the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, really isn’t showing a lot of common sense.
I agree, I think we have addressed this diaper thing far too long and this will be the last comment from either us about it.
Enjoy your good infrastructure and polluted air…….