issue 09 / volume 41 The cost of convenience » How will we cope with all our wasteful products? Elliot Chan .. Opinions Editor »§ Mopinions 3, @theotherpress.ca Keurig K-Cups coffee pods. ke Doctor Frankenstein bringing life to his monster, Sylvan caused unintended havoc with coffee pods. In an interview with the Atlantic, Sylvan openly admitted that although his creation had earned Keurig Green Mountain billions, he regretted it and does not personally consume it himself. It was a rare confession, but one based around a real-world dilemma. Since the inception of coffee pods into the morning routine, people have found it ever more challenging to be waste-conscious. Environmentalists have condemned coffee pods from day one, but the product is thriving. In 2013, one in three Americans enjoyed a single- serving cup of coffee at work or at home and over 11.6 million coffee pod machines were sold. If there is a problem, we are not dealing it. But should we? The premium price we place on convenience is hard to ignore. Coffee can be as Jrce Sylvan is the inventor of i : cheap and as expensive as you : want it to be. Instant coffee : : only requires a few tablespoons : : froma canister of Nescafé : and a little bit of stirring in : hot water. It’s not fancy, but : it'll give you the same jolt asa : coffee pod. The price of that is : approximately $10 for 50 cups. : Not bad. For K-Cups, the cost is : _. about a dollar per cup, which is} 8°18 to change. What we need : athird cheaper than Starbucks. : The price at the moment is in : a grey area: reasonable and : worth trying. So what are we actually : doing? Is there any logic to : using coffee pods or are we : all committed to it now that : we've purchased the ultra- : expensive kitchen appliance? : We have become dependent : on Keurig and other coffee pod : machines. Like a home printer, : we'll buy ink just to keep it : relevant. Caught in a wave of : trendiness, coffee drinkers are : now shackled to the machine. : And sooner or later, remorse : will seep in. : This is not the first product : : designed for coffee that people : deemed wasteful: disposable : cups, coffee sleeves, lids, stir : sticks, and the like. It seems : like everything associated with : coffee is somehow wasteful. : Should we stop drinking What we need to reconfigure is our reason for convenience. coffee? No. Caffeine is the fuel : for our society and that isn’t : to reconfigure is our reason for : convenience. When do we need something convenient? When : we are ina rush. When we are : too tired to put in the effort. : Those are reasonable excuses : to use K-Cups. Sure. But when : those two scenarios aren’t a : factor, make a cup of coffee : the old-fashioned way. If it’s : not too much trouble, carry a : reusable cup with you into a : coffee shop. There is nothing wrong : with using products that are : convenient. Technology is built : to make our lives easier. And : if itll make you a cup of coffee : and help you catch the bus on : time, then the bit of waste is : worth it. However, if you are : just lollygagging and hanging : around waiting for the Keurig : machine to brew your drink, : shame on you. Make a cup of : coffee in a less wasteful way. It : might actually taste better too. Colombia opinions // 19 DayBREAK | ort Td Image from LATimesBlogs.latimes.com Attention to apathy » Why bystander blaming is far from the solution Elliot Chan ».. Opinions Editor © Mopinions 3, @theotherpress.ca M your own business and stand up for what is right. Those two contradicting sentiments have led to many problems over the years as they’ve supplied fuel for revolutions and weakness towards authorities. We blame children for letting their peers get bullied; yet we punish them for confronting their demons. It’s a messy world and while awareness may be a method to clean things up, calling out people for not lending a hand is just poison to ourselves. When it comes to the bystander effect and how we are moulded by it, I often bring up the example of a car accident. You are in a car and the vehicle ahead of you in the next lane merges, striking another car, and careens to the : edge of the road. Do you a) : stop and assist or b) continue : driving? Most of us would like : to think that we would choose : the first option. It seems like : the most reasonable choice, : however, less than half of : all people in that position : would actually stop and help. : With every passing moment : the likelihood of help from : bystanders decreases, and the : more public the incident, the less likely anyone will assist at : all. But what does help really mean? We are not ; professionally trained; we are : not a part of an emergency : response unit. Should we : make a situation worse, we : can ultimately be hit with a lawsuit. There is a clear reason : why being a bystander often: : makes sense. We don’t actually : : know what is happening or the : level of severity. : people love to blame on : bystanders for playing the part : of spectators. I don’t know if : you have ever jumped into a : middle of a fistfight before, : but it isn’t as easy as removing : a magnet from the fridge. In : a moment of intensity, people : can be unpredictable. You : never know if someone is : hiding a weapon or is capable : of doing physical harm. Social : injustice is worth sticking up : for, but two drunken people : arguing on Granville is none of : your business. Get the hell out of there. Photo by Joel McCarthy : Physical altercations and bullying are two scenarios Yes, if ] was ina dire situation, I would want : someone to save me, but would : T ever blame a stranger for not : stepping in to protect me? : I sure hope not. We are all : bystanders in someone else’s life. Everybody has problems and some rise to the surface : like sweat. You cannot expect : people to wipe it off for you.