The Earth Shift

Consumption and its problems

Consumption is another area which is going to have to change quite radically. This change will never come about voluntarily; Human beings are too hooked upon consumption in all its aspects

So unfortunately this is going to be forced upon you. The problem is - and it’s very simple – the global economic model as it exists today, is totally predicated upon human consumption

Items need to be manufactured, sold, used up and replaced in order for jobs to exist in manufacturing and sales, and in order for the holy grail of ever-increasing GDP to be pursued

The whole idea of never-ending growth is of course a myth, it’s quite unsustainable, but it’s a model that everyone is now working to - almost without exception – and one which your leaders continue to feed to you as the path to success

Unfortunately this path to success is also the path to serious degradation of the planet. The natural resources available to you are of course limited; and the energy available to you through fossil fuel sources is also limited. But the changes which are just around the corner, in particular the ‘oil shock’, and scarcity of energy generally, are going to be the method by which the severe downward adjustment to consumption is achieved

This will be an extraordinarily difficult period for mankind, as the whole system is hanging by a thread. Even those who are highly supportive of the so-called capitalist model realise it is severely flawed

The obvious effects of the lack of ability to access materials; to process and manufacture goods and to ship them, will be severe unemployment, with all the financial problems which are attendant

So, mankind is going to have to find a new meaning in work. Many of the existing roles, jobs and professions will continue in their current shape, however they will downsize enormously

The production of high quality consumer goods will be knocked-back enormously, and this is going to be a global phenomenon, it’s not going to be what happens in one or two areas: it will happen across the board

So, this is just another area which mankind as a whole is going to have to address. It will not be straightforward. There will be a lot of individuals, a lot of companies that will look to the government to provide a way out. Sadly this is going to be beyond the capability of most administrations

It’s going to require some very novel thinking, and a quite different approach. This will not happen overnight. Many of the younger generation will probably welcome the fact that this means the planet will not be as severely degraded as it otherwise would have been. You also have all the other benefits to do with the reduction in environmental pollution and waste and so forth

We will come back and talk to you again about this