Wednesday, 07 July 2010 13:23
Written by Andrew Wilkes
Our sins are hidden in our sanitation. Last week on the New York subway, I read a fascinating article about the connection between sanitation and self-deception. Brayden Simms, a columnist for the Metro, is writing a series on waste management to raise consciousness about how environmental issues affect our daily lives. The truth about our garbage, according to scientists at the University of Arizona, is that we lie to ourselves about what we consume. The article notes that “most people … claimed to drink 40 percent to 60 percent less alcohol than garbage sorters discovered.” After knocking back a bottle of Jack Daniels, it seems, we throw away the bottle—and our memory of drinking it. Dr. William Rathje, an emeritus professor at the University of Arizona and the focus of Simms’ article, published his research in a colorful book entitled Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage. Simms’s article extracts a spiritually troubling implication of Rathje’s work: We engage in self-deception and denial about our consumption patterns. Consider, for instance, a couple of Dr. William Rathje’s conclusions:
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