Sustainable Consumption and Production

in Social Life 2016-2018

Unsustainable Consumption & Threats

prepared by Zesp Szk i Przedszkola
w Kaletach Miotku, Poland

Consumerism is an attitude which consists of unjustified

needs of consumption of material goods and services.
It means satisfying the desires.
Consumerism is characterized by greed in buying things
and using services that are not necessary for a man.
What is needed, is a reflection on the lifestyle based
primarily on the consumption of goods.

Consumption itself is not a bad thing, every person living

today is a consumer of various goods and services.
The problem occurs when the consumption is the main
goal in ones life and improvement of living conditions is
the only area of human activity.
Through the prism of material values one evaluates the
behaviors of others and even their personality.
It is closely connected with collecting more than one
actually needs, desiring the latest products, even though
the ones a person owns are equally good so far.

Consumerism can become a form of addiction

for a human being and therefore a form of slavery.

Considering the effects of excessive consumption one

cannot forget the fact that the human species
is an integral part of nature however is able to modify
the entire surface of the planet, its biosphere,
atmosphere and climate in a very deep and global way.
Careless human activity causes a chain reaction,
threatening the environment. Large areas of cultivated
land change into the barren, often saline deserts.
Forests, the green lungs of the Earth are endangered.
Various species of flora and fauna are in the danger
of extinction every day. The pollution of air, water or soil
destroys the surrounding nature.

The contemporary pattern of life was formed at the

turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth century when
the industrial revolution was born.
In 1784 the first spinning plant, where machines have
replaced humans was founded in England.
From that moment the rapid development of industry
and the rapidly growing demand for energy started.
In 1854 the world's first oil mine was opened in Poland
in Bbrka near Krosno. Oil is the most efficient source
of energy, since the technology has allowed the use
of this extraordinary liquid, industrial development
followed rapidly.
Every part of our lives today is linked closely to the
need
to provide energy, and this comes mainly from oil, coal

The fact that mankind relished with new lifestyle,

resulted in the use of energy resources, and
consequently economic growth that had no end.
Natural resources had been formed over millions of
years and just over the life of just one generation more
than amount of half of oil and gas resources were
diminished.
Currently, using up these raw materials is getting more
expensive and more difficult and causes new threats to
the environment. A disaster of BP oil rig in the Gulf of
Mexico in 2010 is just one example.

The second major threat are by-products from

combustion
of energy sources - including many toxic compounds and
carbon dioxide. One of the signs of a crisis is greenhouse
effect.
The result of combustion of fossil fuels and wood is cumulating
carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. This increases the
tightness of the gas shell of our planet. Part of the heat of the
sun does not return to the cosmos, but it remains on the
surface of the Earth raising its temperature.
This leads to the warming
of the globe, melting
glaciers and rising sea levels

Another side effect of unsustainable consumption

and human activity is called ozone hole.
The loss in the ozone layer is caused by CFCs
(chlorofluorocarbons) or compounds containing
chlorine
released
into
the
atmosphere.
Individual atoms of the element decompose ozone
molecules, and as a consequence more ultraviolet
radiation reaches the land.

Purchasing furniture and products made of exotic wood,

deforestation to acquire new land for cultivation, caused
serious destruction of tropical forests.
Reducing the surface of rainforests affects the
hydrological cycle which results in the occurrence of
extreme weather events such as droughts, floods,
hurricanes
and
loss
of drinking water resources.

The people from poorest part of the world often suffer

from
climate change. More than 4 million people lost their
home
during the floods caused by violent monsoon rains that hit
Pakistan in July and August 2010.
There are changes in the chemical composition of water that
cause the disappearance of coral reefs - an important source
of food and shelter for numerous marine species. If the level
oceans continues to raise, many coastal cities around the
world may be flooded.

As a result of over-exploitation of the environment,

caused by unrestrained and thoughtless consumption
of material goods, between 15 and 25 animal species
and plants extinct every day.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature- the
world's
largest
organization
monitoring
the
environment,
the number of vertebrate animals like mammals, fish,
reptiles and amphibians decreased by 52% in 40 years
from 1970 to 2010.
In our latitudes number of animals decreased by 36%
and in the equatorial zone by 56%. The largest
extinction of species is recorded in South America up
to 86%.

Our world is dying.

As humans, we are closely
connected with the natural environment. We need air,
water and food rich in nutrients to live.
So that we can have it, there must be circulation of
matter in the ecosystem, which requires a variety of
organisms, flora and fauna. Through our greed we are
destroying biodiversity.

Continuous production is means using huge amounts

of raw materials and energy. It includes generating
millions of tons of waste.
In Poland, less than 20% of plastic bottles is recycled,
the rest ends up in a landfills. In 2006 carbon dioxide
emissions caused by production of bottles was 2.5
tons, not counting the energy that consumes their
transport.
To produce one liter of bottled water another 3 liters
of water are used in the process of production.
With effective marketing campaigns since 1984 to
2005 the consumption of bottled water in the world

Powerful advertising industry convinces us that the

water from the bottle is better, healthier, more natural,
ecological and so on. That's not true. Its production
is environmentally unfriendly and in addition, expose
us to unnecessary costs. If you are not sure whether
the water that flows in the tap is safe enough to drink,
pass it through the filter installed on the household tap.
Therefore, we abandon the purchase of bottled water,
use a water bottle from which we can be used
repeatedly.

Drinking water resources are running out. Renewable

resources such as surface water subcutaneous
sources are so polluted that it is not suitable for
drinking.
We commonly use Holocene water tanks that means
deep sources of water.
The resources of this water is renewed over
thousands
of years, so virtually, in the perspective of our life
and our growing needs may lead to deplete
groundwater resources.

You cannot overlook the fact that meat production

consumes large amounts of water.
To produce a kilo of beef 40,000 liters of water are
needed, which is used mainly for the production of
fodder for cows. One third of all arable land in the world
is taken by feed.
Over 90% of the world's soybeans, corn and barley is
grown as the fodder for animals.
If these crops are grown directly on food for people
hunger that affects 1.5 billion people in the world would
be solved. The entire production of beef, pork and
poultry
is the source of 18% of all greenhouse gases emitted
into

Animal husbandry is responsible for 64% of global

nitrous oxide emissions and 37% of global methane
production
as well as 64% of ammonia emissions which affects air,
soil and water and is responsible for the formation of
acid rain and damage to the ozone layer.
Liquid animal waste represent the largest portion
of the wastewater, which is discharged from farms.
As the main reasons for the growth of greenhouse gas
emissions is believed to be increased by livestock
production and the trend toward larger, more
commercialized ventures.
The only way to halt these adverse effects is to reduce
the production and consumption of meat and other

Many people live beyond their means. According to the

WWF reports for providing currently living condition
people would need 3.9 planets such as the Earth.

Classical economics
did
not
foresee
the
possibility
of a slow resource depletion
or ecological crisis.

The pursuit of cheaper ways of delivering the product

to the market turns against society in the form
of environmental pollution, loss of natural ecosystems
and biodiversity, human diseases and cultural decline.

It is increasingly difficult to satisfy wakened appetite

for consumption. However, since the planet's resources
are limited, we must ask ourselves the question what
is the cost?
The result of excessive consumerism is unjustified
waste
of manufactured goods, human labor and natural
resources, thus threatening the survival of the human
species and of civilization.
Secondly, it contributes to the degradation of the
human spirit, introducing addiction - the more you
have,
the more you desire.
So understood, consumerism leads to the destruction