"There is no waste in nature"

In the words of George Washington Carver, "There is no waste in nature."  Humans, of course, are the exception.  We love waste.  It makes us feel important and successful.  It is a sign to everyone that we have more than we need, more than we want and more than we could possibly use.  I remember observing my mother-in-law, a frugal Englishwoman, washing and re-using a Ziploc bag.  I was flabbergasted by the ridiculousness of it.  Who in their right mind would wash and reuse a DISPOSABLE bag?  I now re-use baggies.  Those that housed cheese and meat are excepted for sanitary reasons, but the rest are fair game.  I think (and this is just from personal observation) that the octogenarians among us might consider this disillusionment with waste long overdue.  My grandmother didn't have a garbage disposal, she saved the vegetable and other appropriate waste to fertilize the garden.  She didn't complain about the cost of veggies at the store, because she grew her own in her backyard, from which she made the most amazing vegetable soup.  Waste wasn't an option among those who had grown up during the Great Depression.  And then came the fifties! We were a nation of affluence.  We had come through the Depression and our days of scrimping and darning socks were over.  By the seventies, waste was the order of the day.  Yes, there were a pockets of wacky environmentalists, but most of us were content with our disposable existance.   For the next fifty years we have wasted and spent ourselves into an absolute mess.  We were a land of plenty! 

It may not feel like it, but compared to others, we are still a land of plenty.  And we still waste.  Although, there is now a vegetable garden at the white house, people care about gas mileage and we are more aware of how damaging financial waste can be, we still waste.  We leave the tv on all day, even when the room is empty.  I have heard that, because we leave our outdoor lights on all night long, the firefly population is dwindling.  Apparently, the lights confuse them and they fail to mate.  Imagine a childhood without the magic of fireflies!  Could it be that this economic "correction" will inspire us to reduce our waste and once again appreciate the simple things?  I hope so, for my children's sake.