The carbonated footprint on my hardwood floor

Posted by Matt Morris on November 24th, 2019

Have you ever wondered if your life would be better if you avoided using polyurethane? On your floors, on your feet, in your cushions? Its even on your table and possibly your floor.

The fact is, you would have to move to a third world country. The device you're READING THIS on is contains at least a little polyurethane. Potentially even a lot of it.

It's used in floor sealants, foam cushions, consumer electronics and even the to-go cup you take with you when you go.

So it would probably be hard to distance yourself too far from the stuff, unless you're prepared to make some significant sacrifices.

What you really should be asking is what polyurethane should you embrace, and which brands you should avoid. As with anything, it's possible to lower your footprint and still have the nice things.

Check out the best floor polyurethane reviews, for example. You'll find a lot of claims but not much to back it up, unless you go for something like ECOS Woodshield. You do, however, have options. Bags of them. Buckets, even.

When you stop to think about it, we really tend to go off the deep end as a race when things don't matter, and stay way to steady when they do. We have climate crisis and we argue and find reasons to ignore the science.

Someone says eggs cause cancer and it's a fact, it's news, it's a terror to behold. "But I feed my kids those things!" or "I've been eating those my whole life, no wonder my throat kind of hurts!"

News flash folks, EVERYTHING causes cancer. Not everything causes climate change.

So here's what you need to do: take a long, hard look at the things you do for fad and fashion. Are the things you eat going into your body because they're good? Or just trendy?

Are the products you buy and use or install the best option within your price, or the flashiest option within your desired external perception? Do you buy the phone because you know it has what you need, or because you love the way it looks wound between your fingers?

If you're following the trends or chasing the perception, you are literally the problem. Our vanity leads us to create and apply the more complicated and extravagent chemical options, which leads to more manufacturing and more waste.

When encountered with the waste or the cost of more manufacturing, we invest in research to make something better, and the trend starts over.

Don't get me wrong, I love a fast processor. I would never be the last to get the new upgrade, because it's just plain nice to have the fastest thing on the market, the thing with the best options.

Is it a little trendy? Sure. It's nice to wink at my brother over family dinner when he notices I have the latest and greatest Samsung release. It's nice to politely ignore the fact that my sister-in-law has noticed my wife's new iPhone and is trying to not gawk.

But ultimately it's a rat race. And the prize at the end isn't a hunk of cheese, but a stinky planet with a muggy climate full of ick and gick.

So, rather than trying to isolate yourself from all things technological or cool, simply stop and examine your excess. It's OK to want the thing, but be sure you don't want ALL the things. Practice judgment and maybe we'll have a planet in a few years.

If not, who knows.