Guys, this is important.      http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36551880/ns/world_news-world_environment/
Important because we as a global society need to change our philosophy, and part of our cultural mindset when it comes to the products that we as consumers buy.
Not all peoples around the globe subscribe to the ‘throw-away’ culture that we here in America have adopted.   In the US, we moved away from quality, last-a-life-time goods to disposable products.   When it breaks, we don’t fix it, we buy a new one.   Or we buy a new one even if the old one isn’t broken, because we want the latest and greatest.
I don’t necessarily have a problem with this mentality.   Some things, like cell phones or computers, simply will need replacing.   Not because they are broken, but because they don’t do the things we’ve come to depend on anymore and we need a newer version.
Where the throw-away culture creates a serious issue to our long-term well being is when we make our disposable goods out of materials that aren’t so disposable.    Its funny.  We’ll use materials to make products where the materials themselves will last a lifetime, but where the product is disposed of within a few years of purchase.
We can keep the throw-away mindset, but we need to move towards biodegradable materials to produce those items.    Where that isn’t practical, we need to move from “throw it away” to”reuse and/or recyle it.”