permaculture

["Charles de Matas" <cdematas@hotmail.com>]

<<What is excessive consumerism?  >>

I did a search and came up with the following.  If you want more info on 
excessive consumerism you can search for other websites also.
Charles.



Anti-consumerism
What's the problem?
We have a tendency in this country [the U.S. I think they mean] to consume 
excessive amounts of energy and resources misguided by the belief that we 
need to in order to live comfortably. Consumerism refers to the chronic 
purchasing of new products and services without regard to necessity or to 
the environmental and social consequences of their manufacture and disposal. 
Excessive consumerism in this country is the intentional result of 
corporations who profit from the marketing of products that lack durability 
and are not easily repaired. We live in a society where people often invest 
more time and energy on the attainment of material objects than in the 
cultivation of personal relationships and community. Moreover, the 
destructive impact on our environment due to consumerism is devastating.

Americans represent roughly 5% of the world's population. Here are some 
alarming facts about our consumption:

 We consume 40% of the world's gasoline, 25% of its oil, and 23% of its 
coal.

We consume more paper, steel, aluminum, energy, water and meat per capita 
than any other society on the planet.

The average American generates twice as much garbage as the average 
European.

The average American uses twice as much fossil fuel as the average resident 
of Great Britain, and two-and-a-half times as much as the average Japanese.

We consume the equivalent of 3.25 pounds of boneless meat each week, 50% 
more than the average Italian or Britain.

Each year, 200,000,000,000 cans, bottles, plastic cartons, and paper cups 
are thrown away in the developed world.

If each of the Earth's 6 billion human inhabitants consumed at the level of 
the average American, scientists estimate that we would need at least four 
additional planets!
source: http://www.newdream.org/main/about.htm

So what's your eco-footprint?
Click here to find out!
One of the best ways to reduce the global impacts of your individual 
consumerism is simple: buy less stuff!

Consider repairing an old item, borrowing, renting, or buying used. Each 
used item you give away or sell takes the place of one yet to be purchased 
new.

Take inventory of the clothes, books, cd’s, equipment, and furniture etc. 
that you have stored in your closets, basement, or garage and pass on what 
you no longer want to people who can actually use them. By doing so, you 
prevent the spending of energy and materials on the manufacturing of new 
things.

When you are making a purchase, think about sustainability. Choose products 
that require the least energy to manufacture and contain materials that 
biodegrade and are replaceable by nature in a reasonable amount of time.

Learn about the manufacturing of the things you buy. Where did they 
originate? Were they transported from halfway around the world, using up 
fossil fuels in the process, or do they come from local sources? Are they 
quality items that will last a long time, made by decently paid skilled 
workers? Or do you buy items made by poorly paid women and children that may 
cost less, but will be thrown away, broken, or renderered “unfashionable” 
within a short time?

Don't let yourself be a target for marketing! Advertising manipulates people 
in blatant and subtle ways.Clever minds and fabulous sums of money have been 
spent convincing us that we need an endless stream of things, (which always 
include the cost of advertising in their price). Word-of-mouth based on 
personal experience is the best advertising; believe it and nothing else.

What's Buy Nothing Day?
Buy Nothing Day is intended to symbolize resistance against the 
"shop-till-you-drop" imperative in our society. Designated as the first 
Friday after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest shopping days of the year in 
this country, Buy Nothing Day compells us to enjoy a break from the frenzy 
of relentless shopping, and to seriously consider consumerism's effects on 
the rest of the world.

This year, celebrate Buy Nothing Day on November 23, 2001!
For more information on this campaign, visit 
http://adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd/

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