GARBOLOGY: OUR DIRTY LOVE AFFAIR WITH TRASH PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Edward Humes | 325 pages | 05 Mar 2013 | Avery Publishing Group | 9781583335239 | English | United States Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash PDF Book Having not given much thought to how much trash I personally make and where it goes I mistakenly thought it just decomposes in the landfill , Garbology opened my eyes to how wasteful our society is. All living things make waste but humans make a disproportionately large amount of it and it has to go somewhere. I didn't even know there was a Big Plastic Industry in America. Part of HuffPost Environment. I have a brown one I keep in my purse! Millions of individual choices, Humes argues, created the disposable economy, and millions of individual choices can reshape it into a sustainable, wasteless economy. Artists producing masterpieces at the dump. Part 1, Chapters Where else are you going to drive a hundred and twenty thousand pounds of machine around all day and get paid for doing it? For media inquiries about my other work, please use the form at the right. It was impersonal, informative, and assumed intelligence from the audience. The ashes in The Great Gatsby come from trash burning. Plastic is the main cause of it. I read the introduction while eating lunch and was immediately fascinated. Nobody really wants to think about what they contain: Puente Hills harbors millions of tons of moldering old carpet, even more rotting food and a good 3 million tons of dirty disposable diapers—2. Garbology moves through every aspect of garbage handling, from the operation of the huge Puente Hills landfill near LA through the attempts to capitalize on trash with companies like ChicoBag, to individuals setting a good example of waste avoidance like Bea Johnson, to those out trawling the remote Pacific for society's plastic debris, modern man's uncontrolled experiment on the environment. My daily commute is really more on the order of 3 million miles—without ever leaving the house. By the way, don't be smug and think that your tiny little bit of recycling makes you virtuous. As the artists-in-residence at the San Francisco waste facility yes, it's in the book discover, we waste a lot of useful stuff. Pulitzer Prize-wining writer, Edward Humes, has turned his attention to garbage. Businesses being less trashy to serve both profit and planet. Terms Privacy Policy. On an April night in , three small children perished in a Los Angeles apartment fire. This book was published in , so a few of the facts in it are now out of date. This is an amazing study of what we throw away. Please subscribe to my occasional newsletter using the form below. Humes also detailed his conversations with various people working with garbage. Are we facing Carmageddon? I do love my two Chicobags, and was surprised they had been targeted in legal battles by Big Plastic. Important Quotes. I honestly think everyone should read this in school. Whether its garbage in the ocean, landfills in Cali fornia , or back across the sea in MainLand Europe lots of love for Copenhagen here the purview is as vast as it lip-swishingly disappointingly compilated. And farmer's markets are seasonal around here, unlike the year-long bounty I remember from CA. I started writing for newspapers, received a Pulitzer Prize, then took a temporary leave to write one book. I loved the Story of Stuff. About Edwards Humes, including links to articles and reviews. For me it just dragged on and on and on. More filters. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. The noise induces sympathetic vibrations in the chest of anyone nearby, creating the uncomfortable sensation of being near a marching band with too many bass drummers. I also found this book depressing because it seems we're never going to get better about dealing with our garbage. There are just so many ways you can say the same thing over and over and over. Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash Writer At the worst our garbage remains in our environment, polluting our water, our oceans and our surrounding landscape. Wow, when I logged in to Goodreads to post my review after reading this book I was shocked to see all the 5 and 4 star ratings. Why shouldn't things be thrown away without thought when the price paid directly in dollars by the average citizen is insignificant, the stuff disappears like magic and the economy thrives on the consumption that is encouraged by having to buy over and over again? Some sections were stronger than the others, but all-in-all it was excellent. We're very hungry, toxic and wasteful animals. There is a family who can live with one mason jar of trash per year, but she's mostly just outsourcing her trash so she doesn't really even count. Part 1, Chapters That's not to say you shouldn't still make the attempt to recycle, but let's stop pretending that because you remembered to throw that soda can into the right bin you are "doing your part. A very readable study of our garbage addiction: why we make it, where it goes, and what alternatives there might be. Nov 12, Nate Hendrix rated it really liked it. I have a brown one I keep in my purse! Average rating 4. This just didn't have that feel. Of course, there's a reason for this blind spot: namely, the amount of junk, trash, and waste that hoarders generate is perfectly, horrifyingly normal. Essentially recycling isn't a solution Highly recommended for everyone. And your cat and mailman and really wasteful neighbor, etc. My smartphone is even more well traveled, and the parts of my car have seen enough mileage for a trip to the moon before the odometer leaves zero—about , miles. Garbology digs through our epic piles of trash to reveal not just what we throw away, but who we are and where our society is headed. There's been a massive change in China's policy of importing American trash and recycling, and I think the numbers for waste and pollution production overall are now even higher than they were 7 years ago. Waste is the one environmental and economic harm that ordinary working Americans have the power to change—and prosper in the process. The drivers negotiating and moving that cell-in-the-making must constantly be wary of the drop-off from their garbage pile—and the uncontrolled, possibly tumbling sled ride that tipping over the edge could bring about. What is something you do, or will start to do, to help lessen your carbon footprint? Their twenty-three-year-old mother, Jo Ann Parks, escaped unharmed, the sole survivor and only eyewitness. Not gonna change the world, just some small changes. Common read favorite, Garbology We are the world's trashiest people. It's also compelling, revelatory and horrifying all at the same time. Coronavirus News U. It IS cheaper — for them! To ask other readers questions about Garbology , please sign up. The ashes in The Great Gatsby come from trash burning. Then you'll have less wastefulness, and your trash will only be full of garbage. But this is the book I would recommend for most readers. It was published in , but I think it might be even more relevant now. And suddenly I was very aware of exactly how much plastic wrap, baggies, and plastic containers we use every day for this. Along with mass consumption with no thought to disposable, Humes underscores, the idea of thrift was erased from consciousness, and the resulting historic low individual savings in the US. Nobody really wants to think about what they contain: Puente Hills harbors millions of tons of moldering old carpet, even more rotting food and a good 3 million tons of dirty disposable diapers—2. Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash Reviews This is a wake-up call that is long overdue. At the worst our garbage remains in our environment, polluting our water, our oceans and our surrounding landscape. Building a garbage mountain is difficult, edgy, dangerous work. Quotes from Garbology: Our Di Jul 02, Jane rated it it was amazing. Little things, yes, but any book that can convince me to quit using plastic baggies must be a solid read. Chico and the. But, I would have been wrong. Most of us recycle very little and do it badly. Over the past year I have visited schools from coast to coast, meeting students and innovators of all ages who are coming up with fresh ways to turn trash into treasure. Edward Humes argues his point that our burgeoning garbage problem isn't someone else's issue but it is something we can choose to take on directly. Instead of looking at disposal first, we need to tackle our out-of-control acquisition mindset. Alas, Humes concludes that European style garbage incineration is the key to any realistic solution. Millions of individual choices, Humes argues, created the disposable economy, and millions of individual choices can reshape it into a sustainable, wasteless economy. Part 1: The Biggest Thing We Make describes how America deals with trash, how it has been dealt with in the past, and some "paths not taken" in the history of American waste management. I go to the store less and try to buy less stuff I don't really need. It took, and indeed still takes, a lot of money, planning, and organized effort to get rid of the significant amount of waste humans produce.