[-1:-8.00]our children and the world as we know it.
[-1:-9.00]If more people saw the issue as one of saving themselves,
[-1:10.00]we would probably see increased support
[-1:11.00]and commitment to actually doing something.
[-1:12.00]17  Five: Americans are wasting more.
[-1:13.00]18  The myth has it that Americans consume too much,
[-1:14.00]since the creation of solid waste per person continues to climb.
[-1:15.00]Each person generates about 4.4 pounds of garbage a day
[-1:16.00]— a number that has seen steady growth.
[-1:17.00]The assumption is that we are unstoppable in our desire to consume.
[-1:18.00]19 In reality, increases in solid waste are based largely
[-1:19.00]on the mathematics of households,not individuals.
[-1:20.00]That is because regardless of the size of a household,
[-1:21.00]certain necessary activities and purchases generate trash.
[-1:22.00]20  As new households form,
[-1:23.00]they create additional garbage.
[-1:24.00]Think about a couple going through a divorce.
[-1:25.00]Once there was one home. Now there are two.
[-1:26.00]Building that second house or apartment used lots of resources
[-1:27.00]and created lots of construction rubbish.
[-1:28.00]21  Where once there was one set of furniture,
[-1:29.00]one washing machine and one refrigerator,
[-1:30.00]now there are two of all these things.
[-1:31.00]Each refrigerator contains milk bottles,
[-1:32.00]meat containers and packages of mixed vegetables.
[-1:33.00]Each cupboard contains cereal boxes and canned goods.
[-1:34.00]22  The government's official numbers tell this story:
[-1:35.00]From 1972 to 1987, the US population grew by 16 percent,
[-1:36.00]while the number of households grew by 35 percent.
[-1:37.00]Solid waste created in towns and cities increased by 35 percent, too.
[-1:38.00]23  If Americans were really creating more trash
[-1:39.00]by spoiling ourselves with a lot of unnecessary items,
[-1:40.00]we would be spending more on trash-generating items:
[-1:41.00]non-durable goods like food and beauty products.
[-1:42.00]These all generate lots of garbage,
[-1:43.00]since they are used and discarded quickly,
[-1:44.00]along with their packaging.
[-1:45.00]But household money spent for non-durable goods
[-1:46.00]actually declined slightly from 1972 to 1987.
[-1:47.00]24  Yes, the earth's resources are not infinite;
[-1:48.00]natural areas are being destroyed;
[-1:49.00]the number of plant and animal species is declining;
[-1:50.00]consumption of resources is expanding.
[-1:51.00]But we must be less willing to accept superficial,
[-1:52.00]theoretical announcements of right and wrong,
[-1:53.00]cause and effect.
[-1:54.00]To truly change the world for the better,
[-1:55.00]we need more facts, not simply more faith.

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