"Canadian consumers are making the environment less of a priority" This quote is from the Edmonton Journal, August 17, 2011. The story is about a survey which indicates a change in the spending behavior of Canadians. But is this a bad thing? It's not all bad.
This shift away from green products is significant only because the products consumers are switching to tend to be less expensive. Big Business (which includes Big Media) feel a big impact when their customers choose less expensive products. It affects their bottom line, thus this trend is alarming to them. This story which on the surface appears to be about damage to the environment is instead about damage to the economy. This is because Big Business is more interested in the economy than the environment.
Our twisted economic system is obsessed with increasing the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). In fact GDP growth has become the most important indicator of the health of our society. Using GDP in this way is like using body weight as the most important indicator of our personal health. More is not always better. Greater spending on and consumption of consumer goods will increase the GDP, but it will also increase green house gas levels, the toxicity of our environment, the depletion of our natural resources, and the mass in our land fills. One of the acronyms I have created for GDP is "Garbage Domestically Produced" which points out the consumptive nature of our current economic system.
There is an old saying that applies to this situation: "If you are in a hole and you want to get out, stop digging." Virtually any consumer product available on the market today is not good for the environment. Buying more consumer products therefore is never going save the environment, so we should stop digging to get out of this hole.
The encouraging thing is that Canadians were concerned enough to do something about the environment. That altruism seems to be very sensitive and fleeting but it was there. Consuming less is a vastly more effective way of addressing environmental issues than simply switching labels. If we can get Canadians to realize this and consume less we can make a difference.
This shift away from green products is significant only because the products consumers are switching to tend to be less expensive. Big Business (which includes Big Media) feel a big impact when their customers choose less expensive products. It affects their bottom line, thus this trend is alarming to them. This story which on the surface appears to be about damage to the environment is instead about damage to the economy. This is because Big Business is more interested in the economy than the environment.
Our twisted economic system is obsessed with increasing the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). In fact GDP growth has become the most important indicator of the health of our society. Using GDP in this way is like using body weight as the most important indicator of our personal health. More is not always better. Greater spending on and consumption of consumer goods will increase the GDP, but it will also increase green house gas levels, the toxicity of our environment, the depletion of our natural resources, and the mass in our land fills. One of the acronyms I have created for GDP is "Garbage Domestically Produced" which points out the consumptive nature of our current economic system.
There is an old saying that applies to this situation: "If you are in a hole and you want to get out, stop digging." Virtually any consumer product available on the market today is not good for the environment. Buying more consumer products therefore is never going save the environment, so we should stop digging to get out of this hole.
The encouraging thing is that Canadians were concerned enough to do something about the environment. That altruism seems to be very sensitive and fleeting but it was there. Consuming less is a vastly more effective way of addressing environmental issues than simply switching labels. If we can get Canadians to realize this and consume less we can make a difference.
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