[A Sip of a Book] A Joke About Saving the Earth with a Tumbler

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This is an environmental essay for ordinary people who feel a bit hesitant to take to the streets with placards and instead try to soothe their ‘environmental conscience’ with a tumbler. As widely known, to achieve an eco-friendly effect surpassing disposable products with a tumbler, it must be reused at least 220 times. However, what captivates the public more than this practical method is the countless ‘pretty tumblers.’ Many people, pretending to be fooled by the magic of eco-friendliness, succumb to the desire to be ‘hip’ and buy another tumbler. This book flips this reality and argues that properly using even one tumbler can be a ‘hip and elegant life.’ Beyond apocalyptic slogans or superficially eco-friendly consumer culture, it introduces environmental habits that are both highly positive for humans and practicable in daily life, enriched with philosophical and historical contexts.

In fact, there is no more effective way to reduce emissions and resource waste than adjusting eating habits. In other words, we can fly as much as we want without much concern. Compared to the carbon footprint left by our eating habits, it is not a significant issue. Germans produce an average of about 7.7 tons of CO2 per person through personal consumption (world average is 4.8 tons). If processed foods (i.e., convenience foods) and meat consumption are eliminated, more than 1 ton can already be reduced (compared to this, avoiding domestic air travel reduces only 0.28 tons). There is a simple calculation that shows how absurd meat consumption is: for every 1 calorie we consume from meat, livestock eats 10 calories of feed. The worst carbon footprint is from beef, followed by pork. Poultry is by far the most climate-friendly. Germans eat an average of 165 grams of meat daily. If everyone reduces this by one-third?returning to the tradition of grilling meat only on Sundays and holidays?they can reduce carbon emissions by over 100 kilograms annually.

Avocado: If Johannes Mario Simmel were still writing novels today, his bestseller might not be titled It Doesn’t Have to Be Caviar but rather It Doesn’t Have to Be Avocado. If so, we should actively support this. Of course, avocado on toast with olive oil, lemon juice, and coriander is truly exquisite. But we cannot save the planet by noisily debating while melting huge Antarctic ice for snacks. Avocados must fly by plane to reach the toast, and if you board that plane, you will consume twice your annual carbon emissions. Moreover, the vast monoculture farms where avocados grow require irrigation systems that drain all the local water. Producing 1 kilogram of avocado uses about 2,000 liters of water. To meet Europe’s growing demand, trees in forests are illegally cut down. In short, while avocado guacamole dishes are valued as highly as caviar, this superfood should be savored only occasionally and appropriately in dignified settings.

Saving the Earth with a Tumbler, a Joke | Written by Alexander von Sch?nburg | Translated by Lee Sanghee | Chusubat | 280 pages | 17,000 KRW