Saul Griffith is a PhD.D from MIT and a recipient of the MacArthur Genius grant and he devised a way of quantifying the energy necessary to manufacture and produce the goods we use over the course of our lives…energy that cannot be recovered.

Essentially, what he says is that to buy products made from recycled materials (paper, those little coffee wrap things at Starbucks, etc.) is all well and good, but that the energy required to produce these items is still substantial, making our efforts to reduce our total energy consumption through the use of recycled products negligible at best.

Instead, what he proposes is an amazingly commonsensical approach to consumption as it relates to energy use: if you truly want to reduce our lifetime energy inputs and  greenhouse gas emissions, we need to purchase products that last years and years.

He argues that our society is essentially one based on the non-durability of goods. We get a new dvd player every three years because they are relatively cheap and wear out quickly. Electronic devices like computers and cell phones are especially susceptible to this mentality…how many cell phones have you gone through in the last few years?

For Dr. Griffith, heirloom design is what could eventually reduce our carbon footprint. What does this mean? It means that the things we should be designing, manufacturing and consuming in the future should be so well-designed, so durable, so functional that we will pass on things as mundane as pens, watches and cell phones to our children and grandchildren.

It sounds like a radical concept, but it makes so much sense to me. Be sure to read the article…what are your thoughts on this- do you think it is possible to change our mindset of consumerism from one of disposability to one of longevity?