For those of you needing entertainment, I refer you to the latest edition of the wet sponge. We’re all just sharing opinions, that’s exactly the purpose of a university, right? Not the quest for knowledge? Not seeking truth? Not trying to live better? I refuse to go point by point, see the title of the post for why. Instead, let’s just ask a somewhat rhetorical question. What, exactly, is “overconsumption?” I’d love it dearly if our enlightened Sustainabilites would tell us what that means. Surely they can tell us if one pound of pretzels per week, a home larger than 1,200 square feet, a car that weighs more than 2 tons, etc. is too much? And if they can’t tell us, please do tell who is the arbiter of such things?
Or , does it just feel like there’s a lot of overconsumption going on? Or even better, please name the names of people that you know who “overconsume” and then explain why that is overconsumption. Please, do enlighten us. By the way, I was in a conversation with another enlightened Sustainabilite the other day and he mentioned that the evidence of overconsumption was BJ’s Wholesale Club. In light of the link above, I don’t think that BJs uses plastic bags. Since their inception I think customers have been bringing in their own boxes to haul away their 40 pound boxes of marshmallows and other sordid goodies. So, does the absence of bags there mean that there is no overconsumption? Do bags cause overconsumption? This is going nowhere fast. You know, to “raise awareness” I look forward to the wet sponge’s special series on unintended consequences of their opinions. I am sure that the health impacts of reusable shopping bags are nil. I am sure that reusable shopping bags take no resources to manufacture (they are mass produced you know). I am sure that reusable shopping bags never see the end of their lives. I am sure that reusable shopping bags do not slow down shoppers.
Finally, suppose one of our omniscient Sustainabilites (actually that’s not the right term, I need a sort of blend of omniscient agnosticism if you can understand what I am trying to articulate) manages to have us curb “overconsumption,” would they then be marching in social justice marches as average wages fall? Would we all work less? What exactly would happen? What would “they” want to see? Please describe an appropriate life so that we may go ahead and live it.
This comment is perfect. I suppose he’s now doomed to eternal hell.
