Challenging the assumption of a global consumer culture
I want a big Escalade with a V8 engine and air conditioning. It must have tinted windows and silver-plated rims that spin backward, because I saw Missy Elliot had one and shes got the 411. I want a Rolls-Royce with inner velour upholstery and a 25 CD changer because P.Diddy has one and hes fly. I want an SUV because everyone has one.
These days, you cant turn on a TV, pick up a magazine, or even walk down the street without being bombarded by the effects of advertising. Often, it seems that what is being sold isnt only merchandise, but lifestyle a lifestyle that is extravagant, impressive and appealing. Encompassing clothing, food and modes of transportation, this lifestyle is shaped, packaged, marketed to sell and purchased, regardless of the environmental cost. While we acquire these goods, are we thinking about the effects on our planet?
Mass culture, funneled through the media, has become the leading authority on style. Out of all the products out there on the market, how many are not actively endorsed by some celebrity? Not very many. The diva, the gangster, the pop princess, the boy band, the movie star, are all delivered to us on a silver platter. The question presents itself: DO WE REALLY NEED THESE PRODUCTS, OR ARE WE OBTAINING THEM TO CAPTURE SOME OF THAT CELEBRITY FOR OURSELVES THROUGH THE NEW SUV OR NEW PAIR OF SNEAKER OF BOTTLE OR CRISAL?
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Sales of SUVs continue to climb in numbers. The pursuit of decadent and environment unfriendly lifestyle has reached a new height with the popularization of oversized vehicles such as the Hummer, the Navigator and the Escalade. The fashionable and , for environmentalists, notorious, SUV burns 40 per cent more than the average car.
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In Ontario alone. 33.4 million litres of gasoline are consumed each day. Automobiles account for 70 per cent of carbon monoxide emissions, 35 per cent of hydrocarbon emission, and 40 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions in North America.
These high figures owe more to extravagance than necessity. Most households in middle-class America now have not one car, but two or three. The appeal of materialistic excess extends to every occasion: a convertible for sunny days; a truck for camping; a sports car for highway driving and an SUV to pick the kids up from school. Each year, Canada disposes 23 million tones of residential and industrial waste and there are currently over 123 million automobiles in the USA. Each of those is responsible for the deterioration of some small part of ozone layer, the toxicity of a stream, microscopic ash that we breathe in with our air.
Automobiles are responsible for a third of the worlds oil consumption. To use an old clichι, cars are literally driving us to destruction. And with extravagance comes waste. Lots of it. Studies show that the average American is responsible for four pounds of garbage each day. Half of the waste in North Americas landfills consists not of the products themselves, but the packaging used to distribute and market them.
The world is my treasure. I am amazed by the fragility and beauty of nature. My body runs on clean air, fresh water and food harvested from clean soil. The most harmful attitude one can have towards the Earth is lack of appreciation: TAKING IT ALL FOR GRANTED.
Recycling has become a way of life for most if wealthy countries. The simple act of throwing a can into a blue bin can give anyone the satisfied feeling of doing their part. But this small gesture cannot counteract the damage being done on much larger scales by corporations and a public hooked on buying into an opulent and unrealistic lifestyle. It is important to realize that recycling is just one of the many ways to actively participate in reversing, or at least slowing down, the damage to our planet.
Challenging corporations to change business practices and meet environmental standards is essential; so is the re-examination of our own consumerist routines. How often do we buy what we need and how often is what we buy in pursuit of a carefully-marketed image? Over-consumption has brought us to the edge of our Earths limit and it is up to each of us to lessen the impact.