Reflections on sustainability and an intro on "The Technology Crisis"

Theres a floating continent of crap in the Pacific Ocean. No joke, a floating continent of things all around you. I have a point I would like to raise about human behavior and product design.

Sustainability is not just stopping the scientifically indisputable warming of the earth, it is about taking ten steps back from the excessive redundant consumerism we're so committed to. I can't count how many times my mother used Styrofoam plates and utensils just so we wouldn't do the dishes. How many cell phones have you owned in the past five years? I've owned four. Broken things go in the trash, just buy another, its cheaper, right?

Well, not when you consider what the long term costs are. I always hear the same tired story about how families could only afford one television back in the day, and I should count my blessings we have six scattered through the house. Never, in my life, have I met a television repairman. When one TV breaks, you can buy another one. Same with most consumer electronics these days.

Nobody can deny the quality of the goods we buy is on a steady decline to save upfront costs, and some of the highest quality goods we own are from a bygone era. They sure don't make 'em like they used to is a sure-fire problem. Our goods can't add to this massive continent of shit in the ocean, and one way to do that is to make it to last for the long haul, and fix it when it breaks instead of tossing it. I can't remember who said it, but "the inability to recycle a good is a design flaw."

This brings me to a point that has a much larger impact than just sustainability, it's this computer I'm typing on. This puppy is about 4 years old now, anyone familiar with computers needs to ask themselves how much this machine is worth (P4HT @ 3Ghz, 1GB dual-channel DDR, two 80GB SATA drives in a raid array, Radeon 9800 128MB, 2xDVD-RW). Well, besides high-end gaming, what can't this machine do?

Moore's Law is typically balanced out by software complexities and graphic bloat, but how much longer must this continue? Thinking in perspective of anyone who owns computers (near everyone in this country), how many times to we feel the need to upgrade to get the latest bells and whistles? Why should people continuously upgrade their systems when a sizable majority of the population uses their computers for word processing, internet access, and media? Is it necessary? I'll ponder this more, and if anyone actually reads this blog post a comment on your thoughts for my entries, I would love some criticism.