A couple of years ago we went on a fascinating boat tour of a mangrove swamp in Chiapas, Mexico. It was intriguing. We saw colorful little crabs climbing up the vegetation, huge termite nests, waterfowl galore with many species of herons, egrets, etc. Loved every bit of it as we wove amongst the gnarly mangrove trees. Trees that have the ability to turn salt water into fresh.
Yet all the while our charming and eloquent guide apologized for the crud in the water – pop and beer cans, ubiquitous plastic water bottles and other bits of crud that dotted the surface of a place that should have been pristine. I thought he overstated his sense of responsibility for the crap mainly because the swamp had tidal access to the ocean right next door.
And, as we know, the Pacific Ocean contains a mountain of thrownaway detritus about the size of Saturn, replete with fucking water bottles and other items humans are too damn lazy to dispose of properly – as in ‘recycle’. I was told that one of the most common items is disposable cigarette lighters. That’s the ticket, indulge an unhealthy habit and then chuck the means of indulging in that habit.
In recent years some hotshot marketers came up with the pod coffee maker. Not enough crap, they felt. One of the most common items is the Keurig (but there are other brands, too) that uses those little single cup pods. Single cup pods that don’t happen to be biodegradable. And those suckers proliferate everywhere.
I don’t get the allure. I love me a cuppa joe with a passion. But, sometimes you don’t want to brew up a great big pot. Sometimes you just want a cup. I understand that. So, get yourself a Bodum, if that is the case. Those dandy little gizmos make wonderful coffee and if you have a single cup size then your problem is solved. We have a couple of them – a small one and a big one. The small one we actually bought in France, which seemed apt. However, I think the moment the clerk realized I wasn’t French, the price was immediately jacked up. They’re like that. So, it was a bit costly, but you can get much cheaper ones here. Get one. I recommend it.
The point of this screed is to observe how far too many people – you can judge by the crap along our roadways – seem to feel no sense of obligation to pick up after themselves. Do they think there is a gang of supermoms out there to do the job. They were obviously raised by such mothers, the lazy sods.
When I walk across our park next door I am regularly picking up fast food packaging, cans, dog-poop bags and even dogshit the disgusting slobs cannot be bothered to deal with. Why is it so hard to dispose of stuff for such people?
And now you have manufacturers of certain coffee makers actually catering to baser impulses.
And at this moment I am consuming a cup of excellent coffee that I just made in the Bodum. It took all of five minutes.
And I still think so 
I don’t own a Keurig (although we have a Mr. Coffee in the office, and I have used a Tassimo at a friend’s house). I used to use the machine in the office a lot more, but couldn’t stand having to throw the pod in the garbage (and the amount of chai tea I would get from the pod almost wasn’t worth it). But having been in a Van Houtte café in Quebec, where you can buy single servings of myriad flavours of coffee from their bulk bins, I can see the allure of the single pod system (garbage notwithstanding).
I take your point but it does seem so wasteful. That’s why I Like my Bodum.
Probably the main reason that Matthew is not ready to go back to India is that he cannot get over being upset about the garbage there. Not because it is there, but because Western ‘civilization’ is proliferating it. The railways will be buried in plastic judging by the number of plastic water bottles and drinking cups thrown from the trains. In the ‘olden days’ chai was served in terracotta cups, when the drink was finished the cup was thrown to the ground and ultimately recycled into new cups. We are so, so progressive!
Hence my comments about the poor apologetic Mexican fellow. Actually, when I lived in England in 1980-81 littering was dreadful there, but when I was last there in 2006 attitudes seemed to have improved hugely
I noticed the same thing, Ian. In the 80’s it was awful. Litter, dirty streets, dirty windows. Sad. So much better now.
Much better now, thankfully.
I know people with a Keurig and they got refillable containers so they do not have to use the little pod things.
I just don’t get the point of them.
I had the WORST tea in my life from a Keurig machine in a hotel. What the hell is the point of making tea with one of those machines? You steep your tea (bagged – and recyclable – or loose) for however long you like in hot water. The epitome of simple and perfect. And yet, they have a machine to do it for you. And the tea sucks. Apparently Nespresso is trying to develop a good Nespresso tea for the Chinese market… WHY?!! (can you tell I’m not a fan of coffee?)
Indeed, what could be simpler. And what could be simpler than a French press?