Eco-unfriendly Activity Guide

It has struck me during the course of writing this website about ecotourism, that the world is being greatly affected by our actions (and inactions). I want to make a personal statement about what I believe is wrong with the way we as a human population are causing big, big problems for the future. I also want to make a personal statement about how we should change and offer my own view of the way forward.

Consumerism

The first thing to say is that it is not exclusively our world. We live on this planet in harmony with every other living organism. Yes, species are disappearing through natural events - global warming has happened before and species were lost, but it is very wrong to assume that we can continue to accelerate the process simply because of our desire to want more and more. To do so has already led to over consumption of non-essential goods by developed countries.

As an intelligent species, we should grasp the concept that if we cause the problem, we should fix it. How wonderful it is to be awash with an abundance of modern aids to immerse ourselves in play. It's a myth to think that we actually need all this modern stuff to survive. What is really happening is that we are fooling ourselves into thinking that we cannot live without them. Consumerism is an invention of mankind. Consumerism doesn't get you fed. Consumerism is a tenuous concept to cling onto. The more we demand, the more someone will manufacture it, thus using up more resources and thereby adding more pollution to the world.

At some stage, every country in the world must achieve the same level of development with every human being having access to the same standard of living. The human species has to stop competing against each other to become the best country or have the best standard of living. In future, competition should only occur in sport and games. When it comes to real life, we all have a right to live here and expect a minimum standard of living.

"Consumption is excessive when it involves over-exploitation; then we argue that such consumption is not sustainable. But who is to decide the meaning of sustainable consumption? This question has never been satisfactorily resolved because it involves a missing generation, those who will inherit the environment this generation bequeaths to them."
(reference)

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Conclusion and objectives

1. Agree the minimum standards of living for every human being in the world.

2. New luxury and non-essential products which are developed, manufactured and distributed should attract huge "consumerism" taxes which are ploughed back into achieving the first objective.

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The consequences of over consumption

The over developed countries have locked themselves into economic cycles that are geared to massive consumer spending. So they need more and more goods, which require more and more raw materials with more and more energy. So it goes on and on.

It has to stop.

In the short term it will stop when one or several countries over spend beyond their credit. These countries (especially USA), will find themselves without foreign investment and their economic walls will come crashing down. Their over-consumption habits will be fixed overnight in one massive horrible recession.

How is over-consumption affecting the environment ?

Firstly, we are chewing up our natural materials. We all know that, so why do we keep doing it ! Coal and oil are amongst the greatest polluters, but one day cleaner methods for their use will be found. Let's not use it all up in our current polluting way, leave it where it is for now.

Eco-unfriendly activities