Final question

On of the statements that really stuck in my mind was actually from a recent book, "Cradle to Cradle" by William McDonough and Michael Braungart:
“Most recycling is actually downcycling; it reduces the quality of material over time.” Although we have discussed this concept in class, this concept has really had an effect on me. The authors’ really put to rest the idea that recycling (in its current form) can really make much of a difference in the environment. Seemingly everything we recycle such as aluminum and plastics have either no use or very little use after being put in the recycling bin. Although I had thought about the idea before, I had never considered how inefficient our current system of production is before reading about downcycling. The biggest thing that the criticisms of “downcycling” did was explain it would be possible to make recycling an effective way to deal with waste if those who produced the products had these ideas in mind. I felt that we could really fix this problem if we were to actually recycle.
The second quote that stuck with me came from Michael Maniates in his piece, “Plant a tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?”
He states:When responsibility for individual problems is individualized, there is little room to ponder institutions, the nature and nature and exercise of political power, or ways of collectively changing the distribution of power and influence… This statement is very powerful and really attacks the problem at its core. Without collectively solving environment problems, we will continue exacerbate the environmental predicament we have gotten into. That is not to say that the individual is powerless in doing his or her part, because individual decisions on a large scale can make significant changes possible. But turning off the water to shave will not be the solution to our problems. We all want to do our part