"To consume also carries the implication of waste, of destruction..."
This quote taken from Chapter 4 of Saving Place is a realization that we must all come to. Consumption is viewed as economical success but, in the realm of ecology, it can be a failure of epic proportions.
Everyday I consume food, naturally. But that food comes from a grocery store and was sent there from far away by a plane or semi-truck. That food is packaged in various materials, some of which make it to a recycle bin and some of which don't.
Everyday I use paper, I take notes which I could otherwise type on a computer. Except if I did type on a computer, I would need a lot of electricity to power my laptop because the battery can barely hold a charge.
Everyday I make enough phone calls or send enough text messages that I need to recharge my phone every night. More electricity.
I live in a fully-carpeted, heated two-story apartment. My roommates both have space heaters. More electricity.
My roommate is not comfortable unless the house is heated to 67 degrees. Besides being expensive, that seems wasteful. Indigenous people were a lot colder than that and survived and we can too.
Our culture is, if not materialistic, definitely centered around being comfortable. Maybe we want to be more than comfortable even; our culture seems to be looking for a cushy and easy life. We can be lazy and are definitely wasteful because caring takes that extra effort that few are willing to give.
Since reading the bell hooks piece, I have been seriously considering growing a vegetable garden. I think that is going to be my summer/lifetime resolution. It just seems so healthy, cost-effective, and it completely cuts out the middlemen - the grocery story, the packaging company, the semi-trucks, the garbage trucks, etc.
It's interesting that in almost all of the posts I've read on this that comfort and convenience are mentioned as reasons for our consumption patterns. I like how you pointed out that "we want to be more than comfortable" to some extent. It's often not just enough to be content. Sometimes it's as if we need to have enough to feel some kind of reward for making ourselves comfortable. It's not quite the same to have a cell phone that can send texts, it's much better to have a cell phone that can send texts, get on the Internet, has games, and manages our lives. It's hard to imagine now that not even 15 years ago cell phones were barely around and people communicated just fine. That's obviously just one example.
ReplyDeleteYou also mentioned that consumption is viewed as a good thing and a bad thing in our culture depending on how you're looking at it. We're constantly told to spend, spend, spend to boost the economy while we're also told to conserve to minimize the destruction of the environment. I think we tend to pay more attention to "spend, spend, spend" because there's always an immediate gratification. If I go and buy something, I have it and can use it right away. If I choose not to buy it to lessen my impact on the environment, I don't get to immediately see how that choice positively affected things or if it had any effect at all. I just get to go home with nothing except feeling that maybe I helped somehow. Of course, making it about what we get in return is missing the point.
But our culture is pretty materialistic and somewhat impatient. Without some form of instant gratification for doing things like cutting back on the heat or using less paper, I don't think our culture's consumption patterns are going to change any time soon. But some people doing at least something (like you growing a vegetable garden) will certainly help.
I liked your piece for its organization as well as the ideas brought to the table. I liked your method of listing your consumption, its was repetitive (in a good way) and really drove the point home. I also enjoyed the point you made about how comfortable our lives are as a kind of standard in this country. I was actually talking with a friend just yesterday about this idea, and how people say they "need" a new jacket because they aren't crazy about the color of their old one anymore. That's a ludicrous idea compared to how many people around the world live and illustrates our conscious in this country, which I fear, will never change.
ReplyDeleteokay can i just say i love your post because i have been going through the same thing, i have a big drafty house with 5 roommates and all but me have a space heater so there goes the cost and eco-friendly house, we also have to put our heat of 67 to get it to be 60 in the house, but to be honesty i have two pair of socks on, a blanket and a long sleeve shirt and im fine, so what if i need a blanket right, as you said indigenous people can do it. its so true our consumerism is pushed by comfort, and laziness. what is most comfy and easy are the sad determining factors
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