Earth is only for me, not for you
A true story of a conversation on facebook in the end of 2019.
A post on a fb group on natural living went like this .
Sita, of Indian origin posted:
8.5 million Swiss consume more resources on Earth than 1.3 Billion Indians do. A few Swiss consume 2.8 Earths worth resources while 1.3 Billion Indians manage within one planet. And we have only one Earth. #shamefulconsumptionpattern
(Translated from German to English : How many earths would we need if the entire population lived like)
Sara from Switzerland comments : Have you calculated your own footprint? Footprintcalculator.org. while I agree we all need to reduce our consumption it is pretty much impossible if you live in the western world. The calculator is fairly crude but worth trying. I am studying environmental technology masters and this was a subject of a block of lectures. To get back to 1 world you need to only travel by foot or bike with limited public transport, no more house heating or cooling and very limited energy use, no tech like mobile phones or computers or if we do 1 for our entire lives not replacing every few years. Definitely no flying ever. Vegan or very limited meat diet with food obtained primarily locally best your own garden, buying new clothing extremely rarely like once every 10 years and only having a handful of items, never drinking coffee or tea or using any other products that are not produced locally etc……living the western lifestyle we are accustomed to it is very difficult if not impossible to get below 2.5. India has a large portion of very impoverished people that consume very little resources. It does not mean they are all that good! Sorry for the long response. Just wanted to point out it is a lot more complicated than a cute little graph! The message is we cant all afford to live lives like ours and as China and India ( in particular as they have the largest populations and are westernising fast) rapidly develop to have more western lifestyles our planet will really suffer……
Sita replies to Sara: Indeed. Why are Chinese and Indians so willing to westernise would then be an important question that comes up, isn’t it? Another question : should those living in the Global North be allowed to use more resources while those living in the Global south not? That does not sound sustainable. That sounds imperialistically colonial. I thought we are living in a post-colonial era. How then do masters students of environmental technology converge social sciences and concepts of equality for all into their thinking?
Sara: definitely not! It is just a fact that we currently do. That is how it is distributed. The planet can handle it when only a few of us are using to many resources but now that we all want to it cant cope…..definitely not saying they shouldn't have more comfortable lives just that it is not sustainable for all of us to live that way.
Sita : so who gets to decide who lives which way? Without using archaic and unequal methods like political domination?
Sara : Thats the problem. You can’t. So we are going to use up critical resources and then we will be forced to change out ways as goods will become scarce, for example it is produced we will run out of P in the next 40 years, it vital for crop fertilisation and human health. We run out of certain metals relatively soon as well and then there is no new tech. CO2 emissions from energy use will tip us over the global warming threshold and who knows what will happen. In the end Nature will win and life will be very different for everyone…….
Sita : Right. So, who is to reduce consumption, those who consume more or those who consume less, if the world is to be viewed, as all lives being treated equally?
Sara : Those who consume more of course! But it is very hard! How do you stop capitalism! But those that consume less can’t consume more either……we just have too many people and the planet is a very finite resource. I am not trying to get you upset, just trying to point out it is not quite that simple. The planet is in a really complicated mess!
Sita : On the contrary , appreciate your engagement. Thank you. not sure if we have too many people or too many GREEDY people. Big difference. If those who consume less have to ORDERED to not consume more, while those consuming more feel they just cannot compromise their comfort levels, then perhaps not just convergence in thinking for students of environmental technology and social sciences, but also convergence in thinking for students of environmental tech, social science and international business, could be something universities need to think of when they talk of interdisciplinary. Coz, try telling business students they should not push consumerism to China and India, gigantic markets that they eye with the ultimate fascination. The pushback you will receive as an environmental technologist won’t be funny.
Sara : that is not what I said! As you showed in the graph India is already just over the optimum consumption level at 1.3 worlds. So they can consume more……the rest of the world that is above this needs to reduce our consumption back to this level of 1 so we are in equilibrium! I just wanted to point out that just becoming a vegan, removing plastic from our kitchens, recycling and reusing is not going to get us there! Not even close! Us over the 1 planet consumption would need westerners to make HUGE changes.
Sita : I think the map shows 0.7 against India . 1.3 is India’s population . Per capita resource consumption Swiss vs India then is a stark difference. Another question, apart from P, don’t we also need insects for crops? Isn’t Europe facing a crisis with insect extinction? Is the current distribution of resource consumption in the Global North really something that just CANNOT change or is it a question of WILL. https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/the-great-insect-dying-vanishing-act-in-europe-and-north-america/?fbclid=IwAR3Q1q8sJpdILhIp0UJ0fBM_GigC4OgTCPISuwM5o1gTLo46Z0e_0hdaH1Y
Sara : certainly our biodiversity is declining at alarming rates! Like I said, complicated problem. Too much P and N is causing massive eutropication problems as we are over using them. But plants can’t grow without them.
Sita : Technical question : dont P and N exist in natural quantities to ensure an alternative to monoculture whereby plants CAN still grow?
Sara : You do know it is a worldwide problem? Not just europe? I need to study.
Sita : It is a worldwide problem with Europe and USA leading the charts on insects annihilation.
Sara leaves the group.
Questions to readers :
Who do you think got upset — Sita or Sara?
Is Sara saying the top consumers cannot reduce consumption or that they do not want to reduce consumption
If you had to change the title of this account, what title would you give?
Further comparison from Credit Suisse wealth report 2019
