Back to a simple life

Stymie the excesses of consumerism by a return to simple living

June 03, 2011 07:25 pm | Updated 07:25 pm IST

Earth has become a huge dump yard and is almost turning uninhabitable, thanks to the mass consumerism led by a mega corporation Buy N Large. Except for the lonely robot and its sprightly pet cockroach, nothing moves. The only sound emanating from the doomed planet is the tinkling of the metal as the robot rearranges scrap strewn all around. The 2008 movie ‘Wall-E' pictures the consequences of over civilization of Earth in a gripping tale.

Consumerism was given such a boost by the abundance of energy available after the discovery of petroleum. Running all sorts of machinery became so easy and cheap that we started to produce everything which was inconceivable a couple of centuries ago.

Energy consumption

From the innocent looking little plastic toy accompanying a ‘happy meal' in a fast food restaurant to the supersonic private jet are all parts of this boom. Compare the few decades which brought these changes to the life of mother earth itself– 150 years of tumultuous leaps of industrial revolution after 450 crore years of graceful evolution! How is it likely to end?

It is a known fact that we eat up world's energy sources really fast. We can see the inevitable drying up of oil wells. It is only a question of time before this happens.

The changing pattern of energy use is visible in a single lifetime.

Few decades of ago, most of us walked to school, took cold showers and never heard of the air conditioner. Use of energy was mostly for survival needs like production of food and keeping away the freezing winter. Daily consumption of energy has multiplied several times since then – little of which is now for survival.

Exploitation of abundant levels of fossil fuels has also helped us to populate the earth to unimaginable levels today.

As the energy resources deplete and population rises, the cost of energy rises. This is true for all types of energies which are expendable in nature. Price of oil rose from 10 dollars in the seventies to 100 dollars per barrel today. Energy becomes the most sought after commodity, as seen from the many wars fought after the eighties. The rising cost of living linked to energy availability might widen the rich-poor divide, causing social problems.

The second aspect of the excessive usage of energy and the pressures of population is the increasing levels of pollution. The increasing levels of greenhouse gases cause trapping of more heat within earth's atmosphere which leads to global warming. The depletion of ozone layer lets in harmful radiation. Rising sea level shall shift coastlines. As half the world's population lives near the coastline, large-scale migration from coastline will cause pressures on the society.

Waste disposal

The third aspect of this energy guzzle is the creation of waste and problems of waste disposal as represented by the Buy N Large corporation and ‘Wall E'. Almost half of the food made in rich countries is wasted and thrown away. Energy usage is closely linked to consumerism which promotes over consumption (shop till you drop!). The underlying factor in over consumption is wastage. Disposal of waste has become a nightmare for the town administrators.

Increasing cost of living, pollution and waste generation will therefore push us to despair unless we find ways to overcome the energy crisis. While the shrinkage of energy resources shall continue, we can delay the inevitable by simply being aware of it, and then hope to achieve technological breakthroughs in harnessing renewable resources like solar, in commercially viable terms. By being aware, we shall be careful to use only what is needed. A return to simple living and using conservation techniques can bring down consumption drastically. The more we think about it, the more it becomes apparent that there is never a simpler solution than simple living.

Conservation is a dire need for our children. Each time we ignore the commandments of conservation, we are coming closer to that image of ultimate human ‘achievement' – the smart robot among mountains of garbage, only a cockroach to keep company.

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