Consumerism is destroying our environment. It’s out with the old and in with the new, isn’t it? Society has become obsessive with the materialistic way of life. The consumption of goods at a higher rate, Consumerism. Consumerism is becoming the hallmark of most world economies. In the West, it is a common phenomenon, but now even developing countries in the world are resorting to it. It has become one of the biggest challenges the world faces. Our greedy appetites have a terrible impact on the world, and not just economically, socially or on our health, but on the environment. The global environment is being destroyed by processes that exist primarily to fuel the world’s desperate need to constantly consume. Our consumption of goods and services …show more content…
The other half of the scarcity problem is limited resources. Ted Trainer, an Australian academic and advocate for economic de-growth said consumer “…demand for affluence is a key driver of today’s global problems.” Although this is very bias observation, here Trainer displays how the endless and excessive demand that we have for goods and services has created most of the current environmental imbalances. This idea of endless consumption has and will continue to cause geological stresses on the globe, it will further increase global warming and continue to destruct the planet’s ecology, which is needed by the planet to provide support for its overall functioning. While Third World victims flee the product of our selfish excesses, we shall no doubt staunchly defend our moral capitalist right to consume and pollute to the bitter end. We are consuming 30% more material than is sustainable from the world’s resources. Australians are one of the most consumptive, eating resources equivalent to 7.8 global average hectares per capita. The world can only supply 2.1 global average hectares per person, so already Australians are consuming close to 4 times what the Earth can sustainably supply. This is …show more content…
Unsustainable waste and polluting is one of the biggest environmental problems in the world along with climate change and global warming. Most waste and pollution is caused by industrial, military and commercial processes, over which consumers have no control. Murray Bookchin, an American anarchist stated that “It is inaccurate and unfair to coerce people into believing that they are personally responsible for present-day ecological dangers because they consume too much or proliferate too readily.” Consumerism can have positive effects on the world, as it allows for more industrial production, a higher growth rate economy, more comforts for a better lifestyle and it allows development in technology. This development in technology can allow us to solve the issues associated with consumerism and the effects it has on the
Enstad uses her essay, “Toxicity and the Consuming Subject,” to express overconsumption and its correlation with toxins in our environment. She explains that everyday goods are produced to meet continually climbing demands for goods and it’s this over consumption that leads to cheap production and removal of these goods. Enstad says that airplanes, carpets, circuit boards and many other common good contain unsafe amounts of the chemical PBDES (polybrominated diphenyl ethers). Excess of this unsafe chemical in common goods is proven unhealthy. Regardless of the health aspect, the chemical is there because of cheap production. Human overconsumption leads to increased demand for these goods and businesses seek the cheapest producing methods to maximize profit. Enstad’s proof of overconsumption in our modern world “lies in the pudding.” Her factual based studies show the detrimental affects to overconsumption as a whole. Rebecca and Marc illustrate the detrimental affects to overconsumption on a personal level. Their constant addiction to consuming is their own “toxin” infecting them and corrupting them. They continually “consume” and their overconsumption leads them to
The planet earth as we know it had become completely trashed thanks to humankind, and the focus on technology and consumerism caused this issue to be too much that could ever be cleaned up. Buy-n-Large was the major corporation that caused the major focus on consumerism and less attention towards the planet, and their plan to “clean up earth again” while the humans were away on a cruise failed leaving the humans on the space ship in space for hundreds of years. The Buy-N-Large corporation had become so vital to everyone’s way of life, it was socially unacceptable to not be apart of it. This dependance on this corporation made people blind to the effect it was having on the environment. In Bodil Birkebæk Olesen’s article “When Blue Jeans Went Green”, Olesen explains the American social importance to cotton made denim jeans, this parallels the reliance the people in Wall-E had on Buy-N-Large in that their obsession is very similar. Olesen concluded with somewhat of the same warning Wall-E gave, if people don’t learn to give up some of the things that are important to them that are destroying the environment, the planet will suffer. While technology was supposed to be a positive thing by cleaning up all of the trash and allowing the human’s a place to live, the effects of
As time passes, our population continues to increase and multiply; yet, on the other hand, our planet’s resources continue to decrease and deplete. As our population flourishes, human beings also increase their demands and clamor for the Earth’s natural products, yet are unable to sacrifice their surplus of the said resources. Garret Hardin’s work highlighted the reality that humans fail to remember that the Earth is finite and its resources are limited. Hardin’s article revealed that people are unable to fathom that we indeed have a moral obligation to our community and our natural habitat — that we are not our planet’s conquerors but its protectors. We fail to acknowledge and accept that we only have one Earth and that we must protect and treasure it at all costs. Despite all our attempts at annihilating the planet, the Earth will still be unrelenting — it will still continue to be present and powerful. Human beings must recognize that we need this planet more than it needs us and if we persist on being egocentric and covetous, in the end it is us who will
It is the way that we live and how we consume things in our world without thinking of the consequences that is causing environmental crises all over the world. The chapter goes on to say that types of technologies and the way that the world produces and consumes products “create a framework which ends up conditioning lifestyles and shaping social possibilities along the lines dictated by interests of certain powerful groups.” Which means that only big corporations and those who have a lot of money benefit from the lifestyle that the western world has created, those in developing countries suffer and are most at risk to the environmental phenomena’s that the world is
America’s current standard of living is going to cause our demise. Consumerism is a problem throughout Americans culture since mass production began in the late nineteenth century. The obsession with consumerism has led to mindless wastes of resources, a diseased society and economic instability. Rick Wolff, a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts, states “economics of capitalism spread consumerism—now uncontrolled, ecologically harmful, and fiscally disastrous—throughout the United States”. Wolff’s viewpoint on consumerism aligns with mine. Believing that an economy based on promoting endless consumption is volatile and unsustainable. Consumerism can be analyzed and seen to be embedded by corporations and politicians.
‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley is a science-fiction book in which people live in a futuristic society and a place called the World State. In ‘Brave New World’, Aldous Huxley used the idea of consumerism to describe the behaviors and lives of the citizens of the World State. The practice of consumerism by the people of the World State fulfilled their satisfactory and happiness. However, it also blinded purity and truth among its people. Different classes and different genders of people practiced different acts of consumerism such as consuming soma, technology and bodies. They sought happiness from them and eventually these acts became a social norm. However, these practices of consumerism also had side effects. It blinded truth such as
Webster's dictionary defines consumerism as "the economic theory that a progressively greater consumption of goods is beneficial." today we are surrounded by a culture of things and possessions:a materialistic world.consumption of materialistic goods has encroached upon every sphere of our lives and we don't even realise it.at first products had a value of necessity in our lives.but now they are sign of choice, social status and identification.the more we advance technologically and socialy the more we need products to keep up with the times.but do people really need all the things they buy?consumerism today is all about people feeling the need to buy more and more material goods to attain some sort of satisfaction.
Since the Columbian Exchange, consumption has been growing without much concern for the sustainability of the environment. While in some cases such as Brazil the environment was unintentionally preserved; however, there are many more cases of a blatant disregard for the environment. However, we can not just stop consuming altogether, consumers need to be aware of the effects their choices have on the environment and society. Nowadays, there are many products that focus on sustainability and conservation. A focus needs to be placed on conservation and sustainability. This era of mass consumption may have been started by the Columbian Exchange, but the effects of it can still be slowed down. The Earth does not have infinite resource, making conservation extremely important. One resource that is often overlooked is actually space. When cities became heavily populated, space became a major issue, one that we still see today. In London, mass burial graves were used because there was not enough space for the common people to have their own graves. One rather controversial idea was to turn the burial graves into public parks because this would allow more space in the city for citizens to exercise, as well as, clear up the air. The idea did not go over well with many people, and was called immoral and selfish because graves were typically considered a sacred space. This shows just how important
“We are consuming the Earth’s natural resources beyond its sustainable capacity of renewal” said by Herman Daly, Beyond Growth, Boston 1996, 61[1] .
Humans have been destroying the planet since we were able to stand on two legs. As a society, we need to work to reverse these terrible effects that our existence has on the planet. Sustainability is one way to begin reversing these effects, while still living our daily lives. In 2006, Al Gore presented his documentary, “ An Inconvenient Truth”, as a way to show the world the evidence behind global warming, climate change and the destruction of our planet. This documentary shocked the world. It was clear that changes needed to be made, but the destruction was more intense than previously thought. SInce this revelation in 2006, companies have tried to cut down on their greenhouse emissions, as well as offered sustainable products to their customers. Through a debate of morals and
As an environmentalist (or a "radical" environmentalist, as I am often labeled by members of the mainstream environmental movement), I feel it is my duty as a protector of the Earth's well-being to write this editorial as a means of bringing into the American consciousness a variety of frightening environmental issues. Though some of you may be aware of these problems, I know many are not, and thus may be shocked to learn about the degradation of our Earth and the people living in it. Indeed, I truly believe that "since the dawn of the industrial age, America has behaved like an alcoholic with a good job—prospering despite a lifestyle that jeopardizes the future and ruins much of what is good with irresponsible behavior.
The protection of the environment however has just recently become the major issue that it is in today’s society. People worldwide have slowly begun to realize and become aware of the blatant destruction and deterioration of the environment and ozone. As well as the consequences and side affects, that we, as a society have created. The majority of people are just becoming aware of the frightening reality of the situation. As society becomes more informed on the issue of the environment, they too become more impatient, and feel that in the snap of fingers, the damage can be reversed and future damage can be stopped instantaneously.
Though several people see large rapidly growing populations in developing regions as the primary culprit in environmental decline, we need to focus on the costly environmental outcomes of overconsumption among the gradually increasing populations of the developed nations. These differing emphases naturally point to fundamentally different solutions: slow population increase in less-developed nations or change destructive consumption and production patterns in the more-developed nations. This debate, however, assumes a one-step answer to the complex problems created by population pressures on the environment. Both population size and consumption ...
Humans have become a threat to our own way of life by consuming more resources than needed, blind to the consequences that we may face in the future. As of 2016 the world population is at 7.4 billion and it is estimated to be at 11.2 billion by the year 2100. However 10 billion is the maximum population that can be sustained in terms of food security, only one of the many factors to global sustainability. Due to the fact that human consumption exceeds the amount of resources available, the United Nations “recognizes that eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge” in A/RES/70/1. Sustainable development is not only required to fulfill the necessities of the present but to guarantee the capability for future generations to satisfy theirs.
Sustainability Revolution: Earth, the planet we call home, is a complex system made of interdependent parts and pieces of life that are constantly changing. Earth’s planetary system has maintained a balance of dynamic equilibrium—it has been sustainable— since its beginnings about 4.5 billion years ago. This balance, however, has been progressively disrupted by us—humans— especially during the last few decades. Mother Nature has provided us with natural resources and the habitat for all species to sustain life on our planet. Since the industrial revolution, we have maintained a belief that these resources are infinite, and that economic growth and our attempts to improve our standards of living can continue forever. All forms of human economic