waste

[zubird]

CATEGORY / ACRES
FOOD / 3.5
MOBILITY / 1.7
SHELTER / 4
GOODS/SERVICES / 5.2
TOTAL FOOTPRINT / 14
IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON. WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.

from here. interesting. and yes, it would be completely perverse of me to take pride that i

Comments

[misonou]

this comes as a side-thought after loads of thinking about something related. anyway.

most mainstream-accepted ideas about
1. overconsumption and our world in precariosu balance and
2. overpopulation
has a fundamental flaw in logic. it goes like this: there are so many poor people, and they are poor because they're so many, and their poverty is worse because they're so many, and they're more vulnerable to climate change etc because they're poor so obviously it's a worse human tragedy if they're many. but if they use their numbers to socially develop skills and technologies (which is a very natural product of higher density of people, because there is more interaction and exchange of ideas, even if it takes time), then they're a problem again because now they're starting to consume more which accelerates our precipitous fall into even worse climate change and throws us off balance.

basically, the problem is that they exist, because whichever way you turn it they're the main cause of all evils. if the Africans were few and scattered (as they, in comparison with Europe of the US, mostly are), then it would be their technological undevelopedness, lack of human resources or strong societies etc, to blame for their poverty.

i haven't only just finished watching the corporation, but am also studying a development subject with lots of angry people. so i feel like a music box, rattling off once again. however, yes. i very much agree with you. it must be the lack of belief in public institutions in intrinsicly capitalist countries (like the US) that makes people give so much importance to their consumer decisions. a guy in my other class (an otherwise sweet Californian) was giving the same speech on how we should be aware where our dollar goes, the other day. and that's not the point. we have legal systems to regulate things, and we should behave like responsible citizens&voters, not consumers (demand laws and regulation); use the public institutions we've already created, not invent individual consumer conscience and pretend it's a communal thing. without regulations, otherwise, every day one would make many conscience-examining decisions on whether or not to run people over, mug old ladies, pay taxes.