Burying discards in the earth, especially when knowing these materials pollute the environment and create long-term health hazards, is not just an environmentally destructive practice, it is a form of collective insanity—insanity, by definition, being the inability to perceive reality clearly and act in ways that ensure survival.
(One example of this insanity is that landfills are considered super-emitters of greenhouse gases to the tune of almost 5 million tons a year in the U.S. alone. What’s even crazier is that, despite this already high number, the actual figure is likely much higher, as NASA aerial surveys of landfills in California have found them leaking methane at six times the levels reported to the EPA!)
And yet, we continue to bury waste as if the earth can endlessly absorb the damage, without considering the consequences for future generations or the ecosystems we depend on.
In a world where resources are finite, where the planet is already groaning under the weight of overconsumption, and where climate change is spiraling out of control, this behavior reflects a failure to acknowledge the reality of our situation.
It's a form of collective madness to treat the earth as an infinite dumping ground when we know it isn’t.
We act as though we have an endless supply of resources and space, even as the effects of our actions—like polluted water, contaminated soil, and rising greenhouse gases—are already destabilizing the world around us.
This madness is compounded by the fact that we have the technology and knowledge to create better systems. We could be adopting circular economies, reducing waste, and finding sustainable solutions, yet we choose to ignore these solutions and continue down a path of self-destruction.
The fact that we persist in this harmful behavior, despite understanding its consequences, makes it all the more insane. It’s not just a matter of ignorance; it’s a willful denial of the reality in front of us, and this collective denial could ultimately lead to our undoing.