McNeilDebatePaper2

Is American Culture a Sustainability Problem? These were the words of former president Lyndon Johnson when reflecting on the state of the nation. From these words Johnson raises a simple, but thought-provoking question - Have Americans began to take their place in the world for granted? Have we become so obsessed with wealth and material goods that we have overlooked the larger picture? A picture that includes future generations of Americans, which will rely on us, and the choices we make today, to keep the world livable for them in the future. In this country we consume 20 times more per person than any other country (Sagoff). As a country we need to start asking questions and reflecting on the possible answers, for instance – is American culture a sustainability problem? Can we continue to consume energy as our present rate without serious ramifications? I believe the answer to that question is absolutely not, and that is becoming clearer every day. There are a number of different experts in the field of American culture and sustainability that have already come to the conclusion that unless we change the way we consume, it’s only a matter of time before we exhaust all of our resources. One organization known for their work in this matter is the Global Footprint Network (GFN), This organization uses the term “ecological footprint” to quantify the amount that an individual consumes. The ecological footprint is defined as the measurement of how much land and water area a human population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes under prevailing technology. Thus, a country’s ecological footprint equals the earth’s surface area required to produce the resources consumed by its population and to assimilate the waste generated by its population, over the course of a year. For example, by 2003 GFN ecological footprint calculations, Iraq had a per capita ecological footprint of 2.5 acres, China 4.0 acres, India 1.7 acres, UK 13.8 acres, world average 5.4 acres -- and America 24.0 acres. In other words, on average roughly 24 acres of planet Earth’s surface area are required to produce the resources consumed the waste accumulated by every American each year.America’s "biocapacity", which is the area available per citizen that would allow for sustainability is only 11.6 acres per citizen. This leaves an "ecological deficit" of 12.4 acres per person. This means that over half of America’s current sustenance production of the resources that we consume and assimilation of the waste that we generate, is enabled through excessive consumption. To quote the GFN website that is, by "importing biocapacity, liquidating existing stocks of ecological capital, or allowing wastes to accumulate and ecosystems to degrade(Clugston).
 * //“I pray we are still a young and courageous nation, that we have not grown so old and so fat and so prosperous that all we can think about is to sit back with our arms around our money bags. If we choose to do that I have no doubt that the smoldering fires will burst into flame and consume us—dollars and all.”//  ||

According to senior fellow Erik Assadourian, of the World Watch Institute, the problem of the American consumer culture is spreading across the planet. Over the last half century, over consumption has been adopted as a symbol of success in Brazil, India and China. China has now overtaken the United States as the world's top car market and it is already the biggest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. Assadourian states "Until we recognize that our environmental problems, from climate change to deforestation to species loss, are driven by unsustainable habits, we will not be able to solve the ecological crises that threaten to wash over civilization." Assadourian did make a point of acknowledging that in the last few years there has been a transformation of values and attitude. Some individuals are listening to the pleading researchers; and they are making the attempt to consuming and wasting less. According to the world watch institute, some schools have modified their lunch program, in an effort to encourage healthier eating habits among children. These incremental changes applied to the children will set a precedent for larger changes. Also by directing these changes to children today they will be more aware and susceptible of the world’s sustainable issues tomorrow. Scientist and researcher can only do so much thought to spread this issue. Ultimately it comes down to the consumer to educate themselves and police their spending. If they could be large scale change in consumerism then those results would have positive affects in other global problems such as climate change. "We've seen some encouraging efforts to combat the world's climate crisis in the past few years," said Assadourian. "But making policy and technology changes while keeping cultures centered on consumerism and growth can only go so far”, by this Assadourian infers that although we may tackle the climate crisis head on, we can never truly conquer it until we address the larger problem which is the unsustainability within our culture (Goldenberg). Naomi’s Klein’s argument in her public address, Addicted to Risk, is that the model that we have constructed four ourselves in this country is one geared around taking risks, and for an organization to be successful they have to take larger and larger risk, these organizations taking the risks however, do so without taking into account the potential consequences. Her opinion of the American culture is summed up by statements like “What is the latest possible moment we can wait before we begin seriously lowering emissions? Can we put this off until 2020? 2030? 2050? Or we ask how much hotter can we let the planet get and still survive? Can we go with two degrees? Three degrees? or, where we're currently going – four degrees Celsius?” The point Klein is making is what exactly is the allure of gambling with our resources? The main solution that she suggests is to calculate progress rather than just heading blindly into the future, and to consider the negative aspects of a new idea. Klein also brings up that the economic model that has arisen from our way of life is not indicative to every individual. She appeals to those young people who are willing to get arrest or question the status quo.

In conclusion I think it’s becoming evident that our current way of living is unsustainable. My parents grew up in the 60’s when they were proud of their lack of material possessions; when they could pack everything they owned into the back of their VW Beetle and could rejoice in their freedom. Now they are middle aged and middle class with a home filled with stuff. Their garage is piled high with old antiques, children's toys, lawn mowers, gas grill, furniture, bicycles, garden implements, lumber and the list goes on. It seems that as we work longer hours and consume more, people seem to enjoy their lives less. We are always in a hurry, struggling to have what it is we want. Thoreau called this a "Saint Vitus' dance”. Americans today spend less time with their families, neighbors, and friends than they ever have historically, and all of this for a fancy Mercedes. The true cost of that Mercedes is much more than just what the monetary value is. In fact by coveting material possessions, such as a car or a home you relinquish freedom. By owing more items and consuming more energy we eventually become possessed by our possessions; they are often harder to get rid of than to acquire.

Works Cited Clugston, Chris. "Overextension: Our American Way of Life Is Not Sustainable." //Culture Change//. 23 Sept. 2007. Web. 22 Oct. 2011. .

Goldenberg, Suzanne. "US Cult of Greed Is Now a Global Environmental Threat, Report Warns | Environment | The Guardian." //Latest News, Sport and Comment from the Guardian | The Guardian//. Www.guardian.co.uk, 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. .

Klein, N. (2010, December). //Addicted to Risk.// Retrieved October 23, 2011, from TED: http://www.ted.com/talks/naomi_klein_addicted_to_risk.html Sagoff, Mark. "Do We Consume Too Much?" //The Atlantic — News and Analysis on Politics, Business, Culture, Technology, National, International, and Life – TheAtlantic.com//. June 1997. Web. 22 Oct. 2011. .

Schultz, P.W. "ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS ACROSS CULTURES." //Online Readings in Psychology and Culture//. Aug. 2002. Web. 22 Oct. 2011. .

www.footprintnetwork.org