environmental

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We pick the apple from the tree and send it off to the assembly line. The apple, once pure and sublime, now resides in a factory where it is broken down, mixed with chemicals, and re-assembled, only to be put into shiny, plastic packaging. That reformed apple then travels from its originating country to the shelves of Wal-Mart. Two and a half days later, that box begins to rot away, only half empty, in a land fill in China.=====

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It has returned back to the earth in a different form, one which we breathe, one which we cannot see, one which society has hidden from us. For society does not let us know the real environmental damage being caused by our waste.=====

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Garbage can really only be dealt with in one manner: **dumped in a landfill**. When garbage is incinerated first, it not only releases already existent toxins into the air, but along with those, it releases dioxin which is “the most toxic man made substance known to science” (Leonard). Americans are responsible for putting out 4 1/2 pounds of garbage a day, each, and this number only increases as companies continue to innovate and produce more stuff (Leonard). =====

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Throwing out our old stuff helps us individually because it reduces the clutter in our own houses, but we don’t stop to think about what it does for everyone else. As each of us continue to throw out our used stuff, we only add to the increasing amounts of waste. Since we, as a society, do not want to deal with our overflowing land fills, the waste simply gets shipped to third-world countries, such as China. These countries in turn suffer health consequences due to our waste. In China for instance, citizens suffer from skin damage, breathing problems, and even the children’s blood contains high levels of lead (York). Their streams contain “levels of acid strong enough to disintegrate a coin within a few hours” (York). Who causes this contamination? Canadians. =====

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Our disposed electronic products continue to appear in Chinese land fills where we do not have to deal with them, and conveniently do not have to worry about who does deal with it. Despite the fact that China in fact banned importing electronic garbage several years ago (York), it seems all that the Canadian government has been concerned with is ensuring the waste does not pollute our own vision. =====

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But we need to stop and look at what this selfishness is doing to other countries: “**Environmentalists say China is becoming the world’s toxic trash bin**” (York), one where the workers are not even properly compensated for their foul work environment caused by us. ===== 