Social Problem

Stop Overconsumption 2 Based on our current living environment, an increasing amount of overconsumption is happening around us. This is a dangerous sign for human beings. This topic David Suzuki discussed in the essay. We have to figure out good methods to reduce this situation as soon as possible in order to protect our Earth. Nowadays, the phenomenon of overconsumption exists in many countries. It is a big warning to everyone living on Earth. Just as Suzuki mentioned, “Each Canadian consumes 16 to 20 times as much as person in India or China and 60-70 times more than someone in Bangladesh.”(Suzuki, 2008, p.89). For instance, my current part-time job is a cell phone sales representative. At my store, there are lots of customers that would like to get two or three phonesindividually. So I always asked them,“Why is it important for you have more than one phone.” They usually say they prefer using the new phones with the latest technology. Their actions show us how much we waste and over consume. Also the phenomenon presently exists in the USA, many middle class families own at least 2 cars, but there are only 2 or 3 members in the family. As we know, too many cars will lead to air pollution.This is another bad effect for overconsumption. According to these two examples, just like Suzuki said, “if we cut back consumption and pollution, poorer nations can rightfully aim to emulates.”(Suzuki, 2008, p.90).Therefore, it is very important to increase people’s awareness in order to reduce overconsumption. Enormous production may lead to wasting natural resources on Earth that are not renewable just like Suzuki mentioned. According to New Community Project organization (2010), some developed countries have 20% world’s population, but they consume more than 80% of world resources and create 83% of the world’s waste. (http://www.newcommunityproject.org).What a terrible statistic! As we know, some natural resources can never be replenished. For instance, some resources

References: "NewCommunity Project - Consuming Appetites."New Community Project - Consuming Appetites. New Community Project. Retrieved 20 Nov, 2012, from <http://www.newcommunityproject.org/consuming_appetites.shtml>. "Social Economic Impacts."Over Consumption. Retrieved 20 Nov, 2012, from <http://www.timelinetothefuture.com/index.php/en/prepare/social-economic-impacts/over-consumption>. Suzuki, D (2008), Overpopulation Is Bad but Overconsumption Is Worse. In G. Dasgupta& J.J Mei (Eds), Refining Reading Writing (pp. 88-90). Toronto, Nelson.