Transmat World: Climate Change Should Make Planned Obsolescence Obsolete

Once upon a time, things were made to last. Then corporations had a light bulb moment - literally. The companies that made light bulbs back in the 1920s got together and artificially limited the lifespan of the incandescent bulb to 1000 hours. Although it wasn’t known at the time, the records of such a collusion (the Phoebus Cartel) were discovered decades after Osram, General Electric, and Associated Electrical Industries did the deal.

The genie was out of the bottle. This was such a successful strategy, planned obsolescence is now the go-to business plan for phones, ink cartridges, college textbooks, cars, software, office equipment, light bulbs (Still for incandescent! Buy LEDs.), clothes … the list goes on and on.

We must figure out how to rectify this insidious practice. Not only does this border on fraud and immorality, it is a contributor to global warming and a general inefficiency in the use of energy and natural resources.

It can be controlled by regulation. Corporations will not willingly change practices that make them so much money. To enact such regulation will require electing politicians that recognize the dangers of climate change, how planned obsolescence adds to the problem, and are willing to change how business is done. As it stands, the majority of the U.S. Congress, House and Senate, Republican and Democrat, takes too much money from corporations to impartially decide how to regulate this wasteful practice. Corporations purchasing laws is a bigger problem I won’t go into here. As a voter, it is up to you to bring this problem of planned obsolescence up to politicians and ask for solutions.

The practice is not just inefficient and wasteful, producing much more pollution than necessary, it costs you money: Having to go out and buy more light bulbs. Replacing that perfectly good laptop because it won’t support the latest and greatest software. Buying new software because it is the latest and greatest only to find out it is just more complicated, slower, and buggier.

We must learn to vote with our pocketbooks. We want products that are good and good for a very long time. We should not shy from giving praise to products that are sturdy, vital, and long lasting. Take time to give reviews for such products. Shakespeare said this about clothing four hundred years ago and it is just as true today. "Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not expressed in fancy--rich, not gaudy." It means buy the best quality clothes you can afford and avoid fads which quickly fade. Your clothes will last longer, remain fashionable, and save you money.

With all the big problems such as the continued use of fossil fuels and lack of cooperation between governments on climate change, we sometimes forget about some of the other problems that have crept into our society. Planned obsolescence has had its moment in the sun, or shadows, and should now be considered obsolete. It is time for transparency in quality to be the norm, informing us what is best for individuals and our planet.