Do we Consume too Much

1
Do we Consume too Much?

• Mark Sagoff

2
The Questions

• Is over-consumption in the North rather than
  overpopulation in the South the cause of our
  environmental problems?
• Can the economy grow forever on a finite planet?
• Does a good life need to include getting lots of
  stuff?

3
One Attempt at Diagnosis

• We are running out of resources.
• But, Sagoff thinks this claims is mistaken.

4
We are not Running out of Raw Materials.

• Predictions have consistently been wrong about
  food energy and materials shortages.
• Rather than rising prices, prices have fallen
• Decades of non-renewable resources left to use  

5
There are Three Reasons

• improving technology for getting resources
• new resources (and uses/resources substitutions)
  have been found.
• improved efficiency resources reductions per
  unit of output are less in many areas and should
  continue to decrease

6
We are not Running out of Food and Water

• At current population levels we can feed everyone
  a vegetarian diet.
• We can also continue to increase production (e.g.
  via improved technology) and this will lower
  prices. E.g. we can deal with droughts by
  better irrigation and use better seeds,
  fertilizers, and do aquaculture and tree farming
  etc.

7
Some Considerations

• The problem of poverty is a problem of equity.
  Trade barriers, corruption, poor management, war
  and oppression of people are all problems.
• But what about the environmental effects of these
  pesticides and GMOs (sustainability)?

8

• He agrees that changes in agricultural techniques
  and impacts on the environment and species will
  change the world and something valuable may be
  lost (e.g. a sense of place).
• But he notes some of these techniques of farming
  may preserve land and thus nature.

9

• In large part our economy depends on technology
  rather than exploiting nature.
• But it is only because we care about the
  environment and feeding people that we will have
  the incentives to use new practices and develop
  technology.

10
We are not Running out of Energy

• Again new technologies can help (through
  efficiency and innovation).

11

• The real problem is with controlling pollution.
  He talks about the Rio Agreement on climate
  (1992) and says that developed countries have the
  ability to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses.
  

12

• There are also many sustainable energy resources
  available. Bio-energy, wind, water, solar,
  hydrogen and geothermal energy are options.

13

• The reason why we continue to use traditional
  energy sources is lack of incentive for change
  (poor laws, regulations, public attitudes).

14
The North does not Exploit the South

• People complain that the problem is consumption
  not population
• But he says the real problem is that the North
  ought to buy more of what the South produces.

15
He Has a Point

• The U.S. protects its sugar industry (e.g. the
  Fanjuls and others have benefited while the
  everglades and workers have suffered)
• This also caused the collapse of several foreign
  economies. Similar subsidies exist for soybeans,
  vanilla and coffee.

16

• Another problem is export dumping which forces
  farmers out of business and creates food
  dependence.
• A better alternative would have been more trade
  for crops best suited to respective ecosystems.

17
We Need Solutions

•  If poor nations cannot export anything else,
  they will export their misery in the form of
  drugs, diseases, terrorism, migration, and
  environmental degradation. Allen Hammond

18

• The poor have few resources. They have little
  food, education, and employment. Often they have
  strict land-tenure systems that leave them with
  few options but to exploit the land that they can
  in order to survive.
• For example, slash and burn farming a huge
  contributor to deforestation, desertification,
  and climate change.

19
What is Wrong with Consumption?

• We value family and friends, beauty and
  spontaneity. Consumption should not replace
  things we have traditionally valued or cultural
  traditions.
• Discrepancy of wealth between rich and poor is
  getting worse. We have a lot when others have
  very little. We can help others by consuming
  what they produce. By consuming some things
  rather than others we can make a positive
  difference.

20

• We work too much and money doesnt make us
  happier once our needs are met.
• If desires increase as fast as incomes grow what
  point is there to accumulating more wealth?

21
Summary

• Our best arguments for preserving the environment
  may be moral and aesthetic. We should recognize
  the intrinsic value of nature and see it as
  sacred, and wonderful.
• We have to be careful in using economic arguments
  because if we get the details wrong then the
  argument may fail.

22

• Economics may not be the appropriate context for
  thinking about environmental policy.
• We consume too much when consumption replaces
  bonds of community and place, and reverence for
  the natural world.

23
Questions for Reflection

• Do you think that the north exploits the south?
  Why/not? Be sure to define your terms and
  consider objections.
• Do you think the best arguments for protecting
  nature are aesthetic/moral or economic? Is there
  a role for economic considerations?
  Aesthetic/moral ones?

24
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