Saturday, December 8, 2007

Divorce is Bad for the Environment

A recent story in the Los Angeles Times reported on a study done by Jianguo Liu, an ecologist at the Michigan State University, on the effects of divorce on the environment. He noted that people in divorced households spent an average of 46% more on electric power and 56% more on water. Although he made some valid points about divorce leading to more power consumption, pollution and waste of resources, I doubt anyone will put off getting divorced in order to save the environment.

Professor Liu mentioned some potential solutions to the problems, including having roommates, remarrying, living in a commune or becoming a polygamist. I guess having many others living in the same household would be more energy efficient, but it doesn't seem likely that some of those options will be very popular.

Actually, the story included some good advice. Divorce is a good time to scale down your living arrangements. Most people have too much stuff anyway. When they get divorced, it provides a great opportunity to live a simpler life with less stuff and a smaller residence. Maybe it could be a time to change lifestyles and be more energy conscious. It could be the beginning of a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, in which case everyone will come out ahead.

Thanks to the Rosen Law Firm and their blog, KraemerVs for their post on the article. They have an excellent blog and web site about North Carolina family law.

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