top of page

The Overconsumption Culture and Ecological Overshoot

Gradient Ocean

Al Rezoski

Nov 1, 2022

United Kingdom

Categories:

Environment, Climate Change, Consumerism, Economy, Consumption

The Rapid Transition Alliance, a British online news source, explains in a July 2019 story the efforts that many places in the world have taken to reduce advertising in the public realm. Less advertising resulted in many community benefits, including lowering overconsumption and materialism.


Humanity is a consumer culture, and the global economy depends on people producing and consuming goods and services. When we slow consumption, we slow production, and the global economy declines. The corporations that produce goods and services would like each of us to consume more of their products. And we dutifully follow, often driving ourselves into debt and consuming far more than we need. Many of us are now part of an overconsumption culture.


Overconsumption is more than material goods found in our homes but in all facets of our lives, such as energy, food, housing, technology, and transportation.


For example, JD.com and Alibaba, two of China's largest online shopping services, netted a record USD 139 billion in sales on single's day (November 11 or 11/11), an unofficial holiday in China in 2021. (Source - cnbc.com) Between November 1 to December 31, 2021, the "Christmas shopping season"), Americans spent a whopping USD 707 billion! (Source - consumerdecisions.org)


Ecological overshoot is the point at which humanity used its entire natural resource budget for the year. Put a different way; planet Earth can regenerate its resource only so much in one year. Humanity used one year's worth of Earth's regenerative capacity in less than eight (8) months. We are depleting Earth's resources faster than nature's ability to replenish them, which creates irreversible damage to the planet. Humanity is using resources at a rate equivalent to 1.75 planets. And that rate is accelerating each year, with our ecological overshoot date occurring earlier and earlier.


Advertising fuels consumerism and overconsumption. Overconsumption fuels climate change and furthers the deterioration of the environment.


There has long been a push to ban the visual pollution of outdoor advertising worldwide and put more art into public places. A potential and unexpected benefit from these efforts could be a reduction in overconsumption.


The largest city to achieve this is Sao Paulo, Brazil, which implemented the Clean City Campaign in 2007. Sao Paulo banned billboards, digital signs, and bus ads as part of the measure.


Chennai, India, bans all billboards, and Grenoble, France, permits no street advertising. The states of Vermont, Maine, Hawaii, and Alaska (United States) have banned billboards.


This article from the Rapid Transit Alliance cites the issues associated with public advertising. Many places have replaced the areas of former advertising with community art and notices and attractive landscaping.


You can reduce or eliminate outdoor advertising in your community by drawing attention to the associated problems and lobbying for legislation to reduce or eliminate it. You can help to beautify your community and improve public safety and mental health. You can help to reduce overconsumption and materialism and therefore reduce climate change. This stepping stone can spin off many other community improvements.


Let's look at our homes and consider what we can do to reduce overconsumption in our home life too. TidyMind.com lists six (6) simple ways to begin reducing our overconsumption:

1. Switch to reusable products.
2. Invest in a water filter.
3. Donate, swap or sell.
4. Streamline your laundry routine.
5. Support sustainable brands.
6. Have less but better.

Many cultures worldwide celebrate holidays in the last quarter of this calendar year involving significant gift-giving. Now is your opportunity to review your options carefully. Will you support a healthy planet or contribute to its degradation?


You can do this. Make a difference in the world. Change one thing today.


Photo by Christian Diokno on Pexels:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/eccentric-woman-with-shoes-in-wardrobe-3480353/

Source:

Source:

Where_in_the_world_is_Syria_.png

Catalog #:

1022.103.01.110122

bottom of page