The idiom, "waste not, want not" comes from the Scottish Proverb, "willful waste makes woeful want." In contemporary terms: "Wise use of one's resources will keep one from poverty" (thanks, dictionary.com). So, if you don't waste, you will not want. But let's take it a step further... When you don't waste, others will not "want" either.
The problem is, willful waste, these days at least, doesn't usually negatively impact the waster in a direct way at all, that's why waste is so rampant - when people don't see the consequences of their actions they feel no need to change them. What we don't realize is that waste often creates woeful want among those who don't have the luxury to be wasteful in the first place. It keeps needs from being met among the already poor and destitute of the world.
Wasted food, wasted water, wasted money, wasted time, wasted clothing, wasted paper and plastic and everything else we "throw away;" all of it creates woeful want in the world. All of it damages the fabric of our society; keeps the hungry of the world hungry, clutters our planet and our minds, contaminates our oceans and our lungs. It's easy to be detached from the true consequences of our over consumption and the ease with which we toss things in the garbage, but we need to realize that it's affecting us, all of us, in a very serious way.
I know the scenario in the movie Wall-E seems like a stretch, but we're getting closer every day. And if we let it get even more out of hand, I have a feeling a tiny plant in a boot won't be enough to save what we've destroyed.
But there is hope!
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~ Edward Everett Hale
It'd be unrealistic for us to think we can solve this problem all at once all by ourselves. But starting small, focusing on one attainable goal at a time, we can combat the consequences of wastefulness by helping prevent it in the first place. There are groups and organizations throughout this country and the world that are attempting, in whatever way they can, to fight the waste virus that threatens us. What we can do, using the mental and material resources we have, is help treat this disease while expanding the global movement that is searching for a cure.
