Dasgupta,P.
S., P.
R. Ehrlich. 2013. Pervasive externalities at the population, and consumption,and environment nexus. Science 2013 Apr 19; 340(6130):324-8 doi: 10.1126/science.1224664I give a lot of public talks about the future of conservation and always do my best to paint an optimistic vision.
Inevitably, someone in the audience raises their hand and says, or isn’t the real problem consumption and aren’t we doomed to an environmental collapse because of our patterns of ever-expanding consumption? I always admit consumption is a big issue,emphasizing it is not that we consume, but what we consume, and I warn about that preaching about consumption can be a turn-off. But I own not been able to frame a really strong retort.
In a recent article,Partha Dasgupta and Paul Ehrlich give me the seeds of a stronger argument.
They emphasize that two of the strongest universal human traits are competitiveness and conformity. We conform because we strive to find ways to relate to one another — after all we are a tribal species. And competitive consumption has been noted in nearly all societies — rich and destitute.
It is just that as wealth accumulates, the global impact of competitive consumption also grows. All proper. But those same traits can also provide the momentum for change and improvement. Just assume of the students at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and Canada,who chided Chinese couples to not serve shark fin soup at their weddings (a traditional symbol of prosperity) with the poster campaign that labeled shark fin soup as “so 80’s.”
Source: nature.org