What did you learn this week?
The gist of it...
Monday: What About Toilet Paper?
Humans didn’t always use paper to wipe. In fact, beyond China (of course), toilet paper is a relatively new invention that’s but a few centuries old.
In the past, humans wiped clean with anything they could find: stones, wooden sticks, moss, sponges, dried corn cobs, and other textures we’d definitely consider unsuitable.
It takes millions of trees, tons of energy, and a big, fat industry. Never take these little rolls for granted again.
Toilet paper — a real luxury!
Tuesday: Minding the Mines
All wars may be over world resources, with different excuses.
Our contemporary lives — in their entirety — are heavily powered by the underground. Even so-called renewable energy sources require machinery that must be mined for.
Mining contaminates water, deforests the land, kills biodiversity, and deteriorates culturally rich zones. Entire communities can be displaced, and centuries of cultural knowledge and artisanry can be lost.
At the heart of current mining processes lies a complex philosophical and ethical debate. The question is how and how much to mine...
Wednesday: Living with Circular Awareness
The mining sector is the most wasteful industry in the world, but something might change:
Mining companies have caught on to the fact that they need to go circular for self-preservation and as an economic and financial growth strategy.
Spearheaded by the most unexpected of powerful industries, circularity is the path as we step into a technological and energy-intensive future.
In all this, there is also a spiritual opportunity to deeply cherish all the magnificent resources this planet provides for us — nourish the connection.
Thursday: Circularity: From Earthships to Chanel
Earthship homes were invented in the 1970s and are still impressive for their circularity.
They are made with recycled cans, tires, glass bottles, and they harvest water. But Earthship biotecture is an example of a slow and rustic kind of circularity that requires a lot of human labor.
Though Earthship homes are exemplary in many respects, it’s unrealistic that this mode of construction will be adopted on a massive scale for many reasons.
So what’s contemporary circularity all about?
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