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Consumption is using and changing-often degrading-goods and resources. When we
drink water and eat a banana, we consume them. When we purchase a TV and use it
until it fails, we consume it. Similarly when we buy a car and drive it, we
consume it.
Eating a piece of apple pie includes not just possibly an apple from Washington
state, but sugar from sugar cane from Florida, flour from wheat from Kansas, fat
from lard from Iowa and cinnamon from Sri Lanka.
Similarly the TV includes metals, plastics and other materials from several
continents. Glass possibly came from Ohio; copper from Zambia in Africa;
aluminum mined in Australia; integrated chips made possibly in Malaysia;
plastics polymerized from Saudi Arabian petroleum. Finally the TV could have
been assembled in Mexico.
Our purchasing and enjoying a TV requires resources from multiple countries.
Because we have exhausted ores rich, for example, in copper, Zambia now mines
ore containing only .5 % copper. Consequently each pound of copper extracted
produces 199 pounds of waste.
In 1900 the entire US consumed 161 million metric tons of goods. In 1995 this
climbed to 2.8 billion metric tons. In 1995 that equaled an alarming 10 metric
tons per person per year. In 1900 almost half these goods were renewable, such
as wood, fibers and agricultural products. In contrast, in 1995 only 8% of our
consumption was from renewable sources.
Consumption raises moral questions. People have the right to have access to
clean water, clean air, adequate food, shelter and safety. Most of us would also
like to provide access to education, basic freedoms, a job and health care.
At about 305,000,000 people, the US population forms only about 4.5% of the 6.72 billion
population of Earth. As 4.5% of the people on Earth, do we have the right to
exploit most of the key metals? Because they have the money, does a family in
Atlanta have the right to buy and operate three TV’s in their home? Does this
family have the right to generate mounds of waste in Zambia? Some
conservationists would argue that the price of the TV does not reflect it’s true
cost.
Some believe that we consume goods seeking satisfaction missing from our
relationships with people and nature. The 3000 ads we see each day have an impact.
Conservationists recommend that we reduce our consumption, reuse goods and
materials, such as those purchased at garage sales, and recycle allowing, for
example, old aluminum gutters to be melted and formed into aluminum soda cans.
They promote these three R’s.
Conservationists recognize that minimal consumption prolongs the supply of
minerals, reduces waste production, and simplifies our lives. They advocate that
we seek beauty and tranquility in nature.
How can you reduce your consumption?
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Philosophy
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