In the era on the Anthropocene, it seems natural to assign blame to certain countries or groups of people. It is easy to point the finger towards China, citing their 29.14 percent share of world carbon dioxide emissions in 2015, and also towards the 1 percent, presumably the people in control of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies (2). While extremely wealthy people and high carbon emitting countries have certainly played some part in the emergence of the Anthropocene, I believe a larger part of the blame falls upon the modern consumer in the United States. The state of consumerism within the United States is rampant; Americans spend 1.2 trillion dollars annually on nonessential goods (1). While only accounting for five percent of the global population, Americans use an astounding fourth of the world’s energy (2)!
Will our obsession with material goods ever change, and how can it with the roots of freedom so closely tied to consumerism? I believe with a shift from consumerism to “brotherism,” the future of the United States could look much greener. We should really strive for experiences with our “brother” and “sister” Americans rather than virtual experiences on the electronic devices or goods we nearly worship. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the essentials one needs to live in the modern day United States, nor am I suggesting that readers take a close group of friends and live out their days in the woods. All I am arguing is that a shift towards really loving each other instead of what we have could be beneficial for ourselves and the environment. While the term “brotherism” may be a little silly, losing ourselves in each other could help save us from losing our own species to a polluted earth.
Citations
1)https://www.becomingminimalist.com/clutter-stats/
2)https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/12/arts/television/12foot.html
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https://pearlsofprofundity.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/complimentary-handbags-1.jpg