Consumption Journal - Laura Adams

This exercise made me realize that all the things I use in a day, from a simple pen to the subway station escalators, use up energy in one way or another and go through a long process of either manufacturing, transportation or some sort of alteration for me to be able to use them. I also realized that all the little things you use, even if they seem insignificant like 30 seconds of water running, eventually add up to a considerable amount of energy spent.

The things I used the most of were electricity, manufactured objects and food. That made me wonder what I would do with the manufactured objects once they no longer function or meet my needs, like my kettle or chair. I can give away clothes, but I think I’ll have to throw out the other stuff even though it seems wasteful and harmful to the environment. More of what I used was consumable (things I don’t recycle or reuse) than reusable, but at least it doesn’t create any further waste subsequent to its creation.

Overall this has made me think about how even our most mundane daily activities and purchases will somewhere down the line affect other people’s lives because every person makes a little difference. I think that like cells, we make up a living organ with a role to play in support of the whole body (the global economy I guess), expending energy and contributing energy to keep the engine going.