Many people believe that being rich is being able to afford and own excessive amounts of things, such as cars, clothing, ect. However, many of these people do not realize that living that lifestyle negatively affects the environment, increasing your carbon footprint and releasing more greenhouse gasses into the air. Greenhouse gases are gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect, absorbing infrared radiation and emitting it back to earth. Carbon dioxide is one of the most common greenhouse gases, and the amount you release due to the consumption of fossil fuels  and other things that emit carbon is what contributes towards your carbon footprint, which is the amount you release. Society has created an admiration towards people who mass consume items and flex their wealth by buying many unnecessary things and in result contributing massively towards climate change. National Geographic wrote an article about how Earth suffers as consumerism spreads, with a massive increase in things such as cars and factory farms causing a spike in greenhouse gas emissions as automobiles and farm animals belch them into the air. The same article also reveals how consumerism does not increase happiness or health in humans, which means that excessive consumption does not help humans any more than it does the Earth. So, now you may be wondering, what do I do to avoid the typical consumer lifestyle and prosper as minimalistic as possible, helping not only save money on excessive expenses but also help reduce my carbon footprint? Well, one way you can help is by thinking before you buy, and making sure you need every product that you purchase. This will help you reduce your spending to more important things while also helping reduce your carbon emissions, direct or indirect. Another way to help is by taking a bike ride or walking where you do not need to drive. For example, if you live one block away from a grocery store that you normally drive through, walking there instead of driving can limit your emissions from burning fossil fuels in your car. These are only a few of the countless examples of ways we as people can help to reduce our carbon emissions and help fix the mistakes we made in the past, one step at a time.

Works Cited:

Mayell, Hillary. "Earth Suffers as Consumerism Spreads." National Geographic, 11 January 2004, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/envi … th-suffers. Accessed 5 May 2022.