Consumer Culture

When Eric Assadourian says we are in need of a cultural transformation in order to combat the environmental situation, he is saying that we essentially need an overhaul on all of our behaviours, ideas, and morals. Everything that we have come to understand about consumption is a part of our culture. The person with the most money will be happiest. The person with the best clothes will be happiest. The person who can take the most vacations, buy the newest technology, and have the most stuff in general will be the happiest. Even though all of us may understand that to not be entirely true, I think we can all agree that we fall victim to this multiple times a day. I know that there are times when I'm thirsty and I will go into any store or vending machine and buy a coke. Not because water wouldn't be more than sufficient, but because my culture has become intertwined with my tastes and there is something about that coke that appeals to me more than the water fountain. And, although I do try to do my best not to consume unnecessarily and to be as environmentally friendly as possible, I fully recognize that my culture has impacted me and the consumer decisions I make on a daily basis.

Assadourian notes that sustainable technologies can make basic levels of consumption ecologically viable. However, most of us are not taking part in "basic levels of consumption." This reminded me of the video called "The Story of Stuff." It is the idea that we just have too much, and that it is having a negative effect on our planet and our ability to be economically, environmentally, and socially just. Assadourian also noted that we must change the consumerism paradigm which, while incredibly difficult, is possible and necessary.

Assadourian outlined three ways in which we can change our culture of consumption:

1) Consumption that actively undermines well-being needs to be actively discouraged

2) We must replace private consumption of goods with public consumption, consumption of services, or even no consumption at all

3) Those goods that do remain necessary should be designed to last a long time and be "cradle to cradle" (eliminate waste, use renewable resources, and be completely recyclable at the end of their useful lives)

I agree with each of these steps. Essentially, we need to 1) consume less and 2) consume sustainably (as hypocritical as that sounds). Assadourian recognizes that our consumption will never halt entirely, but in a culture where buying that bottle of coke is seen as a BAD thing, more people WILL choose the water fountain to fill up their recycled glass water bottle.

In all, I am entirely in agreement with Assadourian's arguments. As much as I like to try to be environmentally friendly, I do know that I fall victim to our consumer culture multiple times a day (our culture tells us that consumption = happiness). But there are small steps being made now. The fact that "being green" is generally seen as a positive thing is a step (albeit very small) towards a cultural shift. More small steps just like that can eventually lead to greater paradigm shifts. So I remain hopeful that our culture will become more environmentally aware, and hopeful that I can condition myself to resist the consumer culture as well.