Indifference and the Environment

By Tanya Reddy

People unknowingly contribute to environmental problems, including global warming, pollution, deforestation, and water scarcity in many ways. A person's contribution to environmental degradation is often balanced by their indifference to environmental matters. The less a person knows about environmental issues and their long-term consequences, the more likely he or she is to unknowingly be involved in behaviors that are harmful to the environment.

Food waste in homes, especially in wealthy developed countries, is a well-known cause of greenhouse gas production. People buy food in large quantities without proper planning and then throw away food that has spoiled or is past the ‘best by’ date. The food ends up rotting in landfills and eventually turns into methane, which is a major greenhouse gas. Over-consumption of everyday consumer products has been a major contributor to water scarcity since the industrial revolution. The water used to make household products exceeds the water that we use in our homes for showering or washing dishes. For example, producing just one pair of jeans uses about 1,800 gallons of water and making one cotton shirt takes up 700 gallons. More recent contributors to environmental issues, which many people are unaware of, include ‘fast fashion,’online shopping with free returns, and the use of AI.

Fast fashion is a business model where brands quickly produce cheap, trendy clothing that is similar to expensive fashion wear. Fast fashion encourages a "throwaway culture" where clothes are worn only a few times before they are discarded. Its environmental effects include carbon emissions, water consumption, plastic microfibers, and textile waste. Experts estimate that the fast fashion industry is responsible for more carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. A new contributor, which few people are aware of, is the free returns aspect of online shopping. Free returns make it easy for consumers to order multiple sizes or different varieties products and buyimpulsively, but few people think about the environmental costs of returning the extra items purchased online. Returning items, such as clothes that don’t fit, requires reverse logistics or shipping the goods back to the manufacturer, which doubles shipping and transportation emissions. Furthermore, some manufactures land-fill or destroy returned goods; mainly clothes because it is cheaper than inspecting, packing, and re-stocking the returned goods.

The most recent ‘unknown’ contributor to environmental degradation is the increasing use of AI. AI is made possible by huge data centers that use vast amounts of electricity and require millions of gallons of water for cooling. The specialized AI chips and hardware are made from minerals, and rare earth elements must be mined, which also causes ecological degradation. Finally, the rapid advances in AI technology means that millions of tons of electronics become waste and are disposed of in landfills. All these factors are tied to our unthinking consumption of everyday products and services. We can solve these problems only if we rethink our everyday consumption habits and become a less consumerist society.