2008.01.31 ZERO WASTE: Theory of Resource Usage - by Paul Palmer, Ph.D.

Preview:

On Thursday January 31, Dr. Paul Palmer will speak to us about his concept of Zero Waste. His message could bring an element of controversy to the Buzz audience. As you know, we love a good scientific controversy. His idea is that recycling and other modern attempts to manage a deteriorating environment are demonstrated to be failures and we need something radically different if the Planet Earth of the future will be human-friendly. The program he is promoting he calls Zero Waste. This might be controversial because some will say it is unattainable. Others will say it is obvious. Those in the middle will hopefully say it is just right. In countries such as Germany, these ideas would not be seen as outrageous because their approach to consumerism is much advanced over ours. Even China has passed environmental laws far more advanced than ours.

Paul is no love child who would solve the world's problems with good vibrations. He wants us to see that all products and processes of the very near future (i.e., before we have killed ourselves off) are designed to be endlessly recycled and reprocessed. Some would find this unattainable. Yet, that is what nature always decrees. But nature does it in a manner that destroys the planet, as WE want it to be if our role in the process is not altered. On planet Earth everything and every body is recycled. Eventually.