By Jeremy Peterson

Look for a moment at the objects that surround you. How many of those objects were produced sustainably? For argument sake, use the Wikipedia definition of sustainable: the capacity to endure.

My definition is pretty simple as well: a process that gives back as much as it takes. So, how many of those objects can you say were produced using truly sustainable practices? How many of those objects will be giving back to the Earth as much as they have taken?

Maybe you are reading this by the light of a “green” CFL, otherwise known as a compact fluorescent light. Maybe you’ve replaced all of the incandescent lights in your house with CFLs. Maybe you’re a hardcore “greenie” and you’re sitting in a chair made of recycled plastic on carpet made from recycled plastic, and wearing a shirt made from recycled plastic.

You feel good about yourself, temporarily. You are using less electricity now, so because of your actions, less coal is being burnt, releasing less toxic emissions. You’ve found a second (or third) use for those plastic bottles that might have been thrown into a landfill. You’ve spent your hard-earned money in support of practices that will lead to a healthier ecosystem.

This all seems sustainable, but is it? Let’s first take a look at those CFLs that everyone (myself included) is using these days to save energy. The sad truth is that they contain mercury, a known neurotoxin. Although the amount per bulb is very small, keep in mind you are not the only person using CFLs. There are millions of people worldwide saving energy with CFLs, which means that millions of CFLs will potentially end up in landfills or incinerators.

So, how do you properly dispose of a CFL? I haven’t seen much in the advertising hype on how to dispose of them, so I looked it up online. I found that there are a couple of local companies, most notably Home Depot, that are willing to properly dispose of unbroken CFLs. Then, I found some information about cleaning up after a CFL breaks. It included opening up the windows to air out the room and using gloves to wipe up the spill. Does this sound like a sustainable “green” product to you?

You might argue that CFLs will offset the mercury emissions that would normally be released via the burning of coal and you would probably be correct. But does this make them sustainable? I have a feeling that in the future this might be looked on in a similar way that we look at cocaine formerly being an ingredient in Coca Cola. Our kids’ kids will surely wonder how we could knowingly let a toxic product be mass produced and labeled as “green.”

What about the recycled (or downcycled) plastic in your chair, carpet or shirt? This can’t be bad. You’re trying hard to do the right thing. But this recycled plastic might be off-gassing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with possible effects ranging from obesity to cancer. And to think, you were only trying to do the right thing.

Therein lies the problem. These products are simply not sustainable and they are being misrepresented as being sustainable.

A truly sustainable product is produced with an end-product in mind — with the health of the world (not just the people) in mind — and with the mindset that eventually this product will become the bodies of humans and nonhumans. Call me crazy (or a tree hugger if it makes you feel better), but I don’t like the thought of my children ingesting VOCs.

I hope that in the future our kids’ kids will be able to look back to the past as a time when products were made unsustainably with known toxic substances. Because that will mean hings will have changed. They may laugh at our ignorance, but at least they, and the world, will be healthier.



Peterson is a science teacher at Maplewood High School.