Extreme Consumerism

While consumption of goods is necessary to survive, overconsumption well beyond what is needed has created a world where resource use has outpaced the sustainable capacity of the ecosystem. Overconsumption leads to:

  1. The loss of natural resources used to produce those goods
  2. Toxic pollution in the air and toxic waste in the ground from mass production
  3. An unprecedented amount of waste that harms our lands, our waters, and our wildlife
  4. Destruction of subsistence sources for communities in the underdeveloped world
  5. Exploitation of the most vulnerable: cheap offshore labor, forced child labor, depressed wages at home, diminished benefits, and a disappearing safety net

 

Video summary: Collective actions problems are a common type of problem in our society. Society as a whole would benefit from solving this type of problem yet on an individual level working towards a solution is a disadvantage.

Video summary: A stylized animation demonstrates how humans and industrialization have destroyed the environment.

Of the total material flow that goes through this system, only 1% of consumer goods purchased are still in use 6 months after the date of sale in North America [5].