Convenience versus Conservation - A Conversation

Each day is a series of decisions. From the moment you wake up to the time your bombarded mind lays to rest for the night. The western world lives life at a voracious pace. Catch a cup of coffee between two meetings, make dinner for your family after work, change the diaper on your child. As our society becomes more advanced and its members have the luxury to continue to specialize, convenience has become a matter of utmost importance to a lot of people. There exist families who only use paper and plastic products in their kitchen because it’s faster. It’s easier. It’s more comfortable. Sustainability is the idea of wisely using the resources we have to provide for ourselves while also doing what we can to guarantee that future generations will also have what they need to live comfortable lives. Unfortunately, that is not an important idea to a lot of people. As an idealistic romantic, I had expected Germans to be more conscientious. I walked by a café near my apartment every morning for the past two weeks. They have to-go cups and ceramic mugs available to consume their coffee in. The majority of people sitting at the tables outside were seated, enjoying their morning cup of joe… drinking out of single-use coffee cups, despite not having left the place they bought the coffee at. Convenience is a silent decision maker. People prize their time and efforts over the value the environment provides them. It’s easier to throw away your child’s used diaper than wash a cloth one to reuse. It’s easier to use a to-go cup at a café rather than carry around a dirty thermos for the rest of the day and remember to bring it with you the next day. However, if a restaurant only uses compostable paper products and only has compost bins as their trash cans, it’s quite easy for the customers to avoid plastic products. As American culture spreads across the world, with our fast-food restaurants and interconnected lives, the world needs to figure out a way to make sustainability convenient for people.