How America can save money and stop wasting less food, water and energy

Waste is just that – a waste. A waste of time, money, and valuable resources, like food, clean water, fertile soil, or energy. 

As pointless as waste is, and as much as we dislike it, it is all around us. We waste almost half the food we grow or raise. We waste more than half our energy through inefficiency, we waste three-quarters of our fuel in gas guzzlers, we waste water in our homes, our towns, our factories and farms. The list goes on and on.

None of this waste makes our lives better. It makes things measurably worse. Waste's corrosive effects reach beyond our own pocketbooks and into our communities, our nation, and the world at large. Wasting oil jeopardizes our national security. Wasting food creates social unrest. Wasting energy poisons our air and water and sickens our families.

The good news is that we can dramatically reduce waste without in any way lowering our standard of living. After all – it’s waste!  We can stop waste at home and where we work or play or learn. Our towns can stop waste; our states and national government can stop waste. Our businesses can stop waste. Everyone can get in on the action.

Read the rest at NRDC Switchboard.

Photo: holeymoon / Flickr