On AlterNet: consumption

Stories, blog posts, and videos tagged as "consumption"

Is Your Stuff Falling Apart? Thank Wal-Mart

Stacy Mitchell, Grist.org. May 1, 2012.

Wal-Mart's cheap stuff is hugely costly - right where it matters most.

$5,000 For a Pair of Sandals: The Rich Are Different, Right Down to Their Shoes

Sara Robinson, AlterNet. April 24, 2012.

In a world where kids are starving and ice caps are melting, how can people spend $5K on shoes?

Goodbye Overconsumption: Why the Commons Can Save Us From Drowning in Too Much Stuff

Jay Walljasper, On the Commons. February 23, 2012.

Story of Stuff creator Annie Leonard talks about why the commons are so integral to our lives.

Sweatshops at Sea: Most of Our Goods Arrive Via Ships Where Seafarers Labor in Dangerous Conditions

Stan Cox, AlterNet. February 7, 2011.

With 90 percent of all international cargo being hauled by sea, we rely heavily on the exploitation of seafarers, mostly from low-income countries.

How You Can Have a Free House

Michael Janzen, YES! Magazine. August 18, 2010.

The author had a big house and a big mortgage. Then the financial crisis hit, and he wondered just how small, and how cheap, a house could be.

Our Obsession With Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities and Our Health

Annie Leonard, Free Press, Simon & Schuster. March 16, 2010.

A new book questioning our consumerism says we spend more on shoes and jewelry than higher education; more on ocean cruises than providing drinking water for all.

Would You Trade a Bigger House for More Happiness?

Ashley Braun, Grist.org. January 27, 2010.

A 14 year-old girl convinced her affluent family to trade in its mansion for a house half its size and donate half the proceeds to charity. Here's what they found.

11 Ways to Make Your Holiday Economically and Environmentally Friendly

Sarah Sloane, AlterNet. December 11, 2009.

The holidays can mean big expenses and lots of waste (not to mention the emotional costs). Here's how to avoid all that mess.

The Recession Is Taking a Bite Out of Meat Consumption

Martha Rosenberg, AlterNet. December 2, 2009.

More than half of Americans have cut back on meat. Martha Stewart broadcasts a meatless Thanksgiving show. What gives?

Most of Us Hate X-mas: Let's End That Holiday As We Know It

Bill McKibben, Grist.org. November 30, 2009.

If you poll Americans this time of year, far more regard the approaching holidays with dread than anticipation. How can we make Christmas worthwhile again?

A Millionaire with a Super Yacht Is a Larger Strain on Resources Than Hundreds of Peasant Families

George Monbiot, Monbiot.com. October 2, 2009.

It's time we had the guts to name the problem. It isn't population; it's consumption. It's not sex; it's money. It's not the poor; it's the rich.

Can Condoms Save Us from Climate Change?

Tara Lohan, AlterNet. September 19, 2009.

The greenest technology available to us may not be solar panels, but instead contraception, according to a new report.

Why My Vasectomy Will Help Save the Earth's Resources

Matt Leonard, Earth Island Journal. June 10, 2009.

"Any child I had would have been raised here and would consume (despite my best efforts) far more resources than I am comfortable accepting."

Consumption, Not Population Is Our Main Environmental Threat

Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360. April 14, 2009.

Let's challenge the convenient notion that "over-consumers" in rich countries can blame "over-breeders" in distant lands.

How We Can Live with Less and Still Feel Rich

David Villano, Miller-McCune.com. December 24, 2008.

Here's how government can help curb America's seemingly endless appetite for "more."

Breaking the Consumption Addiction: Can You Be Clever?

Gwen Schantz, AlterNet. December 23, 2008.

Forced to pinch pennies, Americans are finding clever ways to cut back. A break in the consumption cycle may be a good thing in the long run.

The Good Life Doesn't Have to Cost Us the Planet

Andrew Simms, Joe Smith, YES! Magazine. December 17, 2008.

What if you woke up one day to find that humans eventually did make the right decisions, and the world turned out to be a pretty cool place.

The Average Household Spent $1,760 on Clothes in 2007 -- Here's One Way to Cut Back

Stan Cox, CounterPunch. November 29, 2008.

Christmas after Christmas, polls show that clothing, the most popular present among givers, is ranked as the 'most disappointing gift.'

Having a 'Better' Economist in Obama's Treasury Won't Cut It

Rebekah and Stephen Hren, Huffington Post. November 17, 2008.

We must restructure our economy from a foundation built on consumption to regeneration and maintenance.

Environmental Failure: A Ruined Planet Is Closer to Reality

James Gustave Speth, Yale Environment 360. October 21, 2008.

Environmental groups have grown in strength and sophistication, but the environment has continued to go downhill. Why?

The Problem Is Simple: Too Many People, Too Much Stuff

Paul & Anne Ehrlich, Yale Environment 360. August 7, 2008.

An equitable and humane solution to overpopulation and overconsumption may actually be possible.

Triple Shock Strikes the Global Economy

Eric Le Boucher, Le Monde. March 20, 2008.

The American growth model will have to change.

Who Needs Meat When You've Got Bugs?

Kerry Trueman, Huffington Post. February 14, 2008.

We may find the idea of insects as livestock disgusting, but could a bug farm possibly be any more foul than our fetid feedlots?

The Threat of Population Growth Pales Beside the Greed of the Rich

George Monbiot, Comment Is Free. January 31, 2008.

Some blame the poor for growing pressure on the world's resources, but the wealthy West takes the lion's share.

Consuming Our Way to Unhappiness

Terrence McNally, AlterNet. January 10, 2008.

Our excessive consumption is trashing more than just the planet. An interview with Annie Leonard.