Affluenza The epidemic explored on our campus

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AffluenzaThe epidemic explored on our campus

• By Ashley Pike, Charlotte Merriman, and Michelle
  Ramos

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Do you have Affluenza?

• An idea taken from the book, Affluenza, by John
  de Graff, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor
• Affluenza is a a painful, contagious, socially
  transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety,
  and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of
  more.
• Our over consumption, our wastefulness, and our
  misuse of all non-renewable resources is
  infecting our country, and through example, the
  world.

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• The American Dream promises happiness in economic
  success however, America is holding ever more
  tightly to its habit of consuming larger and
  larger quantities every year of coal, oil, fresh
  air and water, trees, topsoil, and the thousand
  other substances we rip from the crust of the
  earth, transforming them into not just the
  sustenance and shelter we need but much more that
  we dont needThe accumulation of material goods
  is at an all time high, but so is the number of
  people who feel an emptiness in their lives.
  --(Al Gore, 1992)

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Symptoms?

• Community Chills
• An Ache for a Meaning
• Social Scars
• Resource Exhaustion
• Industrial Diarrhea
• Addiction
• Dissatisfaction

• Shopping Fever
• A Rash of Bankruptcies
• Swollen Expectations
• Chronic Congestion
• The Stress of Excess
• Family Convulsions
• Dilated pupils

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Diagnosing Our Campus

• To determine the seriousness of the virus on
  Allegheny campus, we gave a sampling of students
  a survey (found in Affluenza.)
• The survey was tweaked to better reflect
  students lives, but it was scored the same.
• Every yes 2 points

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Scoring

• 0-24 You have no serious signs of Affluenza
• 25-49 You are already infected
• 50-74 Your temperature is rising quickly!
• 75-100 Youve got Affluenza! Take appropriate
  actions immediately! You may be contagious.

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Treatment?

• Voluntary Simplicity simpler, more
  environmentally friendly living.
• Buy Nothing Day
• Turn Off The TV Week
• Take back your time movement
• Spreading the word!
• Shift priorities
• Transportation choose a fuel efficient car,
  dont live far away from work or school (walk
  more often)
• Food Eat less meat, buy organic produce, reuse
  water bottles, buy from a local market
• Household Choose your home carefully, reduce
  excessive use of heat and hot water, install more
  efficient lighting/electrical appliances, turn
  off/unplug appliances when finished with them
  (turn out lights, turn off computers.

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Results?
These are the average Affluenza scores. Generally
girls have a higher infection rate. Junior girls
have the highest scores Junior guys have the
lowest scores for the men. Sophomore girls had
the broadest range of scores the lowest was 16,
the highest, 70. There is not a huge distinction
between classes. We expected the Affluenza rate
to go down as students got older.
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Lets take a closer look

• Question 4 Do you buy groceries from a large
  chain store rather than a local farmers market?
• Question 20 Do you often leave things plugged
  in all day that you use once a day, like a
  hairdryer?
• Question 42 Would you support an increase in
  taxes to support environmental funding?
• Question 44 Do you mostly drink tap water
  (instead of bottled water)?
• Question 45 Do you use the LOOP shuttle system?
• Question 50 Do you eat meat nearly every day?

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Do you buy groceries from a large chain store
rather than a local farmers market?
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Do you often leave things plugged in all day that
you use once a day, like a hairdryer?
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Would you support an increase in taxes to support
environmental funding?
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Do you mostly drink tap water (instead of bottled
water)?
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Do you use the LOOP shuttle system?
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Do you eat meat nearly every day?
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Conclusions

• Girls are more likely to take the time to go to a
  farmers market and use the LOOP shuttle system.
• However, girls are also more likely to go to a
  mall just to look and leave appliances plugged in
  all day.
• Guys are more likely to pay increased taxes,
  drink tap water, and eat meat nearly every day.