UNI T 5

CONSUMPTION-
SUSTAINABILITY
PHI L
THESES ON
SUSTAINABILITY
THESES
Article 38 describes Eric Zenceys 18 theses
regarding the use of the term sustainability.
1. The term sustainable is so commonly used that is in
danger of meaning nothing.
2. Nature will decide what is sustainable.
3. An act, process or state of affairs can be said to
be economically, ecologically, socially or culturally
sustainable.





4. Nature is malleable and nature gives healthy
ecosystems a dynamic equilibrium.
5. The term economic sustainability is misleading
because in our country we use fossil fuels to generate
wealth and produce growth.
6. Social sustainability is a state in which a society does
not contain any dynamics that will pull it apart.
7. Cultural sustainability and how in order to be
culturally sustainable we need to preserve the
opportunity for non market cultures.



8. Human civilization and how society has been built
on the exploitation of the stored solar energy found in
four distinct carbon pools: soil, wood, coal, petroleum.
9. 1987 Un Brudtland report describing the definition of
sustainability and that is, meeting the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
10. That a distinction can be usefully drawn between
wants and needs, but due to mainstream economics
the distinction is being refused.




11. Neoclassic economic theory, which argues that
those who become wealthy do so by hard work.
Creating infinite economic growth but causing society
to overuse resources.
12. Sustainability is becoming more impossible
because of the advances in technology and the high
amount of social needs.
13. Over consumption of products and services is also
making the ability to sustain the environment harder
and harder. Law of thermodynamics: "You cant make
something from nothing, nor can you make nothing
from something.







14. Establish an ecologically sustainable economy that
requires the public to accept a limit on the amount of
scarce low entropy, that we take up from the planet.
One way is to demand a economy wide tax on low
entropy uptake, such as, the extraction of coal and oil
and the cutting of lumber.
15. Environmentalism needs to become an economic
vision, and less of a moral vision.
16. We need to accept a limit on how much matter
and energy we take up from the planet.





17. Our challenge: to create an ecologically
sustainable civilization that offers a high standard of
living widely shared among its citizens but without
carelessly using up the materials we will need in the
future.
18. The future is waiting for us, we just need to see if
we can make it there.
KI RS T E N
COLLABORATIVE
CONSUMPTION

WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE
CONSUMPTION?
Collaborative consumption is defined as organized
sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting,
and swapping through on-line and real-world
communities.

WHAT FUELS COLLABORATIVE
CONSUMPTION?
Material items are taken for granted and often are
over consumed.
This shows that people are taking more than they
need.
There are people who gain a false sense of
happiness that is based off of material items when
in the long run, those people dont have what they
need.
Over consumption happens mostly from people
that cannot let go of sentimental items.

HOW DOES COLLABORATIVE
CONSUMPTION HELP?
Gives each person the opportunity to use their
knowledge and strengths
Helps provide services within local means : making
options within reach
YOUTUBE VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1_cpMpCOOE
DAVI D
CONSUMING PASSIONS

HEROIC CONSUMPTION
When wealthy people are consuming things
unnecessarily just to feel powerful
Although this is slowly coming to an end, everything
that can be done to bring this to an end, should be
done

Examples: Less gas/oil consumption, less water use,
less electrical use, no unnecessary buying such as
boats, electronics and private jets


HEROIC CONSUMPTION (CON.)
The price tag of the wealthy are rapidly losing their
power, which enchant the rest of us who cant
afford such things
We are in a world of deficiency of materialism
because if we truly were, we would exhibit a far
greater appreciation for the world around us
Big concern for our childrens children with the
decline in natural materials and over consuming of
resources by humans
GETTING RID OF HEROIC
CONSUMPTION
We need to get a different understanding of wealth
The real aspects of living a rich and fulfilled life
should be rescued from the tyranny of money
Dont consume stuff just to feel like your living a
successful life
The most important satisfactions from life are the
cost-free resourcefulness of ourselves and others,
not just consuming things

WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF NOT
STOPPED
Although this way of solving the problem is easier
said than done, sooner of later we will be taken
over by events such as oil wars, water wars, food
wars, rioting and breakdown
These will all eventually take over and be more
brutal than we have already seen in our past if not
stopped
Above all everyone wants to survive, being wealthy
and consuming a lot of stuff is part of life for wealthy
peoples lives but eventually and very soon they will
realize how they are living their life is affecting
everyone around the world

YOUTUBE VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naH46G4r3cA

BRANDT
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

OUR SOCIETY IS CHANGING
The formula in our society for human well being use
to be simple make money get happy
Why is this no longer the case?

Today growth no longer makes us wealthier instead
it creates insecurity and inequality.
Growth is taking away our happiness
INVENTION OF GROWTH
Thomas Necomen invents the steam engine in 1712
Led to development of fossil fuels for energy which
completely changed our standard of living
Our economy and lifestyle went from just getting by
to wanting more
THE PROBLEM
Our economy continued to grow but we are no
longer getting wealthier
The U.S. is worth less dollar value today than it was 30 years
ago
Our energy supply is mainly based on oil and fossil
fuels
Many oil companies claim we are past the oil peak
Cant find new wells to offset depletion of old wells
This is resulting in rising oil prices
THE PROBLEM CONT.
If the whole world was to seek economic growth
and superiority like the U.S. oil wont be the only
thing running short.
Food will disappear
Water will become undrinkable
Air quality will drop

Seeking more and wanting a bigger better
economy is parallel with environmental destruction
ECONOMIC GROWTH HURTING OUR
WELL BEING
In todays society many of us base our happiness off
of what we buy
Our purchases bring us satisfaction
Is buying things really making us happy?

Our houses are bigger
We have more cars
More stuff without anywhere to put it
We have smart phones and the internet
Food and water available whenever we want it
Oddly none of that is making us happier
Happiness ratings in the U.S. Have dropped from 38% very
happy in 1974 to only 33% in 2006.
People deal with more misery today and depression ratings
are going up
We are becoming more individualistic culture and
economy with our search to find more wealth
We are losing companionship, since of family, and
community all things that bring happiness and our essential
to our well being
Much research shows that to a certain point money
does bring happiness
Eventually more money means more problems
BIGGER ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER
The effects of oil has dramatically changed our
farming industry as well.
The idea is that industrialized farming produces
more food than smaller sustainable farming is
actually incorrect
The latest Government census states that smaller
farms are actually producing more food per acre
than industrialized farms

WHY ARE BIGGER FARMS PRODUCING
MORE?
Oil has taken the place of human interaction with
the land.
There are bigger tractors and chemical fertilizers
We manipulate the land and the plants
Plants aren't growing to their full natural potential but to just
be good enough
Slowly destroying the quality of the soil
We need to focus more on quality not quantity
CONCLUSION
Our search for bigger and more superior economy
is catching up to us in all areas of life
We are losing our overall well being
We have a false idea that money creates happiness
We are destroying our environment as well as using our
resources