Over consumption is a global problem that is being caused and worsened by a small fraction of the population. America and its consuming habits are the biggest contributors to the world’s global consumption problem, but unless it is brought to most people’s attention it is not a problem someone would really think about. The first step into becoming a better consumer is a hard one to take, and unless people are stopped and told what is happening it is not usually taken without a push. In learning about the problem of consumerism we learn that the way we live is unsustainable. In fact if the rest of the Earth’s population lived like North Americans do it would take three planets to live sustainably. (Wackernagel and Rees, 13)

The main problem is that Americans have lost the meaning behind the phrase “waste not, want not.” We want and desire more and more because advertising and corporations tell us it is what we need to be fulfilled. As that happens, the waste we produce starts to pile up, as broken objects, out of fashion items and packaging. Each American on average throws away four pounds of trash per day (Ryan, 4). Now multiply that number by the population of North America, which is approximately 274 million. That equals about a billion pounds of trash per day!

In addition to our over powering amount of trash that builds, we also have to look at where all the products that we have come from, how they were put together, and the environmental exploitation and desecration that may have occurred to make that product. Questions arise such as, was my shirt made by a ten year old making 50 cents a day in slave labor conditions, or did an old growth forest have to be cut down in order to make my table? The list can go on. It is for this reason that we say that over consumption is a global problem. In the book Stuff, The Secret Life of Everyday Things (Ryan and During, 1997) the origins of the products are tracked, where they are made and what had to happen to make and get that product to you.

In learning about where your products come from and how they were created you will realize that what you do affects everyone around you. We as Americans need to start walking lighter on the Earth and by learning about this problem we take a step in a better direction. Just remember “live simply so others may simply live.”

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