Consumerism

The connections between consumerism and climate change are increasingly visible. Research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates, with 90 percent certainty, that recent global warming is caused by human activity and, in particular, their patterns of consumption, and that this effect is accelerating at a much faster rate than previously thought. As a result, consumerism generates some profound issues for sustainability, particularly in relation to enhancing human, social, and environmental capital. The [Page 86]meaning of consumerism is multilayered. It can be regarded as a moral doctrine in developed economies, where, in offering consumers choice, it is perceived to bring freedom, power, and happiness, and has thus come to represent a better way of living. It can also be thought of as an ideology ...