Seeing the Bigger Picture

I am entering my seventh week of study in Recycling and Resource Management. My BLOG post assignment for this week is to describe what have I learned thus far and how do I now see things differently. Without any doubt I am now 'seeing the bigger picture' when it comes to consumerism, sustainability, and how recycling plays a major role in both. The literature we've studied has given us an in depth look at consumerism as a powerful driver at many levels in today's world. We cannot continue down this same road. We need to change course towards a future where sustainabilty is our destination. I have learned how many of today's largest corporations have recognized 'eco-advantage' and have adopted significant green strategies into their way of doing business. They are now riding the 'green wave' turning 'green into gold.' I've toured various facilities, landfills, a household hazardous waste facility, a composting facility, a major recycling facility with both a clean MRF and a C&D MRF (materials recovery facility), and most recently a regional waste water treatment facility. I've had some very up close and personal experiences which have given me a much greater understanding of what we are doing, at least locally, to deal with some major issues we have as a huge population center here in Southern California. The bigger picture is much more complicated however. The bigger picture can become much more obvious to all by viewing a documentary we recently saw in class, Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth.'