I have observed that as the content of ordinary things reduces so does our consumption of those things. Clearly, except for many of the 1%, it holds as the jelly or nut butter get closer to the bottom of the jar, and as the ice cream nears the bottom of the container. But what interrupts that process is almost complete denial that some things–things we can’t readily see or notice–are diminishing, like fossil fuel, and clean air, and potable water, and the ozone layer, and ice at the north and south poles, and fish. This unwillingness to face reality has led to a plethora of problems of which we are all aware but many do not want to make the hard choices to find sustainable solutions. So we continue to use resources unabated, even when the planet shows obvious signs of abuse and degradation. Reactionary elements disdain scientific evidence and extoll folklore and fundamentalist religion. For example, in Louisiana, schools are required to present an alternative theory of evolution which asserts that 5,700 years ago an aging deity created the heavens and earth and all life on it in six days. Eventually, God didn’t like his handiwork and sent a flood to drown everyone except 600-year old Noah and his family and two of every species on Earth, including microbes. Somehow, Noah forgot the dinosaurs…
Yes, it’s true. They really are required to state all this in Louisiana’s schools, giving it equal billing to evolutionary theory, which is based on everything we know about biology. This is a very weird country indeed. Believers in this theory are called Young Earth Creationists (YEC), and according to Wikipedia, “Between 40 and 50% of adults in the United States say they believe in YEC, depending on the poll. According to a Gallup Poll in December 2010, around 40% of Americans believe in YEC, with 52% among Republicans and 34% among Democrats. The percentage falls quickly as the level of education increases—only 22% of respondents with postgraduate degrees believed compared with 47% of those with a high school education or less.” That’s right: Forty to fifty percent of all Americans believe in this hogwash. And this country is supposed to be leading the way towards environmental sanity.
Actually the most alarming figure is that 22% of people with masters and doctoral degrees believe in the creationist delusions. I have a masters degree and let me tell you, you’d have to practice some mighty powerful denial to believe that crap after all the education to the contrary. My conclusion? Never take the opinions of those with higher education at face value. Always end a conversation with one of them with the simple question: Oh, by the way, how old is Earth? This is also a good question to ask all the Republican Presidential contenders before you decide to vote for them. Barack Obama’s answer will be 4.2 billion years, which, along with ridding the world of Osama bin Laden and others of his ilk, should get him re-elected. Oh yes, he also prevented a Great Depression, the cause of which was George W. Bush.
But perhaps my theory of Diminishing Consumption is taking hold after all. Witness the demise of the Hummer. Witness the rise of the hybrid and all electric vehicles. Witness the increase in solar installations. Witness the increase in the price of gasoline. Witness the increase in air and water quality. Witness the first wolf in a century to enter California. True, the polar bear is under siege. True, an outlandish pipeline shipping oil tar sands from Canada to Texas is on the verge of acceptance. True, mountain tops are still being leveled in West Virginia. And glaciers the world over are receding at an alarming rate. But as global warming proceeds and Earth’s resources near the bottom of the jar, people are looking for sustainable ways to live on this planet. Ten years ago, the very word “sustainable” was barely in the English lexicon.
So at the start of the year 2012, there is hope. There is awareness. There is consciousness. And yes, to some degree, there is diminishing consumption. The big question is will we have the intelligence, determination, and the political and social will to have the wisdom and make the sacrifices needed to save this precious planet of ours?
I wish you all a happy and sustainable New Year.
