~Is this the American Dream?~
- Despite amazing economic growth between the years of 1958 and 1980,
Americans reported feeling significantly less well-off in 1980 than they
had 22 years before.
(Paul L. Wachtel, "The Case Against Growth," The New Age Journal, Nov./Dec.
1988 p.23.)
- Percentage of 18 to 29 year-olds who think they have a very good
chance of achieving "the good life"
1978: 41%
1993: 21%
(Allen L. Otten, "Young Adults Now Are More Pessimistic," Wall Street
Journal, Sep. 27, 1993)
- Rise in per capita in the U.S. in the last 20 years: 45% (John Cunniff, "Would You Believe These Are The Good Old Days?", Seattle Times, Sep. 19,1993)
- Decrease in quality of life in the U.S. since 1970, as measured by
the index of Social Health: 51%
("Social Problems on Rise,U.S. 'Health Check Shows," Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, Jan. 14,1992)
-Percentage of Americans who feel the American Dream is very much
alive:
1986: 32%
1990: 23%
(Barbara Benham, "Why Have We Lost Confidence?", Investor's Business Daily,
June 12, 1992)
~Is More Really Better?~
-In 1992 people were, on average, four-and-a-half times richer than their great-grandparents at the turn of the century. (Alan Durning, "How Much Is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth"{New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.1992} p. 23.)
-Compared to their parents in 1950, people in the U.S. in 1991 owned twice as many cars and drove 2.5 times as far. (Durning, "Asking How Much Is Enough," in Lester R. Brown et al, State of the World, 1991{New York: W.W.Norton & Co. Inc., 1001} p.156)
-Amount of time the average working American spent behind the wheel in 1991: 9 Hours per week (Durning, "How Much Is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth"{New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.1992} p. 84.)
-Increase in average daily TV viewing since 1960: 39% ("Eight Cultural Indicators," Wall Street Journal, March 15, 1993)
-American parents spent 40% less time with their children in 1991
than they did in 1965.
(William R. Mattox, Jr., "The Parent Trap," Policy review, no.55, Winter,
1991, p.6)
-Employed Americans spent 163 hours more per year on the job in
1991 than they did in 1965.
(Juliet Schor, The Overworked American{New York:Basic Books,1991} p.29
-Percentage of college freshmen who reported thinking it is essential
to be well off financially:
1967: 44%
1987: 76%
-Percentage of college freshmen who reported thinking it is essential
to develop a philosophy on life:
1967: 87%
1987: 39%
(Lawrence Shames, The Hunger for More{New York: Times Books, 1989} p.43)
-Number of Americans with two or more homes in 1991:
10 million
-Number of homeless Americans in 1991:
a minimum of 300,000
(Durning, "Redesigning the Forest Economy," in Lester R. Brown et al.,
State of the World, 1994{New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 1994} p.36)
~Shop 'til You Drop~
-Number of advertisements American teenagers are typically exposed to
by the time they graduate from high school:
360,000
(Durning, "How Much Is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the
Earth"{New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.1992} p.128)
-Average time spent shopping per week: 6 hours
-Average time spent playing with children per week: 40 minutes
(Betsy Morris, "Big Spenders: As a Favored Pastime,Shopping Ranks High with
Most Americans," Wall Street Journal, July 30, 1987)
-Americans can choose from:
over 25,000 supermarket items
200 kinds of cereal
11,092 magazines
(Lena Williams, "Decisions,Decisions,Decisions:Enough!",
New York Times, Feb. 14, 1990)
~Nothing Should Be Wasted...~
The waste generated each year in the U.S.
- would fill a convoy of 10-ton garbage trucks
145,000 miles long--
over half the distance to the moon
(Jeremy Rifkin, Ed., The Green Lifestyle Handbook{New York: Henry Hold &
Company, 1990} p.54)
-By the time someone born in the U.S. reaches the age of 75, they will
have:
produced 52 tons of garbage
consumed 43 million gallons of water
and used 3,375 barrels of oil.
(Sandy Bauers, "Study: Save Earth; Have fewer Children,"
Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 17,1990)
-Amount of motor oil sent to landfills or poured down drains in the
U.S. each year:
180 million gallons-- the equivalent to 16 Exxon Valdez spills.
(Jeremy Rifkin, Ed., The Green Lifestyle Handbook{New York: Henry Hold &
Company, 1990} p.11)
~To Dream or Not To Dream~
-Percentage of Americans who say they have achieved the American
Dream:
those earning less than $15,000 a year: 5%
those earning more than $50,000 a year: 6%
("Harper's Index," Harper's Magazine, October 1998, p.15)
-Highest income group in U.S.: doctors
-Professions with highest proportion of unhappy people: doctors and
lawyers
(Jonathan Freedman, Happy People{New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,1978}
p.166&167)
-Percentage of American workers who report feeling "used up" by the
end of the workday: 42%
(Julia Lawlor, "Workers Want to Get a Life," USA Today, Sep. 3, 1993)
~A Dream... Or A Nightmare For Others~
-Percentage of world's population comprised of Americans: 5%
-Percentage of world's resources consumed by Americans: 30%
(Denis Hayes, "Economic Power," Seattle Weekly, Nov. 10,1993,p. 15)
-The amount of energy used by one American is equal to that used by:
3 Japanese
6 Mexicans
14 Chinese
38 Indians
168 Bengalis
531 Ethiopians
(Sandy Bauers, "Study: Save Earth; Have fewer Children,"
Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 17,1990)
-A person in the U.S. causes 100 times more damage to the global
environment than a person in a "poor" country.
(Dianne Dumanoski, "The People Problem," The Boston Globe, Feb.
5,1990,citing Paul Ehrlich)
~Nightmare For Earth~
-In the last 200 years the United States has lost:
50% of its wetlands
90% of its northwestern old-growth forests
99% of its tall grass prairie
up to 490 species of native plants and animals
with another 9,000 now at risk.
(The 1993 Information Please Environmental Almanac, compiled by World
Resources Institute{Boston & New York; Houghton Mifflin, 1993} p.159
-Minerals due to run out in 50 years:
copper, lead, mercury, nickel, tin, and zinc.
(The World Resources Institute,World resources, 1993-1993{New York: Oxford
University Press, 1992} p. 320-21)
-Amount of rural land in the Unites States turned over to development
every day:
9 square miles.
(Durning, "How Much Is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the
Earth"{New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.1992} p.148)
-Number of acres we blacktop each year:
1.3 million acres (equal to the state of Delaware)
(David Pimentel, panelist, "United States Carrying Capacity Overview,"
Carrying Capacity Network conference, Washington, D.C., 1993
-Within the lifetime of a child born today, virtually all of Earth's
petroleum will be burned,
and Earth's fuel tank will be empty.
(Gerald O. Barney, Global 2000 Revisited
{Arlington, VA. Millenium Institute, 1993} p. 31)
~Are We Trapped In A Nightmare As Well?~
-Number of individuals filing for bankruptcy in 1992:
900,000 -- triple that of 1981
(John H. Cushman, Jr., "Bankrupt Individuals Are Fewer," New York Times,
June 28,1993)
-An American baby born in 1992 inherited a portion of the U.S.
government debt equal to: $14,813. That portion continues to grow each
year.
(Stephen H. Dunphy, "Economic Memo: A Primer on Debt," Seattle Times,
march 29, 1992.)
-The typical American household carries $8,570 of non-mortgage
personal debt.
(Mary Granfield, "Having It All in America Today," Money, October 1991,
p. 124.)
~How much does a good life cost?~
In the state of Kerala in India, historical and cultural forces have produced a quality of life nearly equal to ours -- on a fraction of the income.
First World, Kerala, Third World Data
Population in Millions 387 29 897
Total Fertility Rate 2.0 2.0 3.9
Quality of Life Indicators:
Infant Mortality Rate 8 17 91
Life expectancy, Male 72 70 58
Life Expectancy, Female 79 74 59
Literacy, Male 99% 94% 64%
Literacy, Female 99% 86% 39%
Resource Consumption Indicator:
GNP per capita $22,430 $365 $330
( William M. Alexander, Earth efficiency: is Community a Key? (Food First
Institute and Earthwatch expeditions, 1993), p. 13. (Data from population
Reference Bureau, 1993 World Population Data Sheet, and Government of
Kerala, Economic Review, 1992)
-In the U.S., we use 250 gallons of oil equivalent per person, per
year.
Europeans use half this amount.
(Pimentel, panelist, "United States Carrying Capacity Overview,"
Carrying Capacity Network conference, Washington, D.C., 1993
-Most Europeans produce less than half the waste per person as the
average American.
("Sustainability: The Global Challenge," ZPG Backgrounder (Washington,
D.C., Zero Population Growth)
-Possibility that all the world's people could live as Americans do:
zero
(Durning, "Asking How Much is Enough," in Lester R. Brown et al,
State of the World 1991 {New York: W.W. Norton and Co. Inc., 1001,} p. 157)
-Number of people that the planet could support living as the
Europeans do, with modest but comfortable homes, refrigeration for food, and
ready access to public transit, augmented by limited auto use:
everyone
(Durning, "Asking How Much is Enough," in Lester R. Brown et al,
State of the World 1991 {New York: W.W. Norton and Co. Inc., 1001,} p. 157)
Time For A New Dream?
-Percentage of American workers ages 25 -- 49 who would like to see a
return to a simpler society with less emphasis on material wealth:
75%
(Ramon C. McLeod, "Baby Boomers Seek `Meaning'," San Francisco
Chronicle, Februady 13, 1989.)
-Percentage of workers willing to forego raises and promotions to
devote more time to their families:
34%
(Julia Lawlor, "Workers Want to Get a Life," USA Today, September 3, 1993.)
-Percentage of American workers ages 25 -- 49 who believe that keeping
up with the Joneses does anything for the keepers-up:
2%
( T. George Harris and Daniel Yankelovick, "What Good Are the Rich?",
Psychology Today, April 1989, p. 38.)
*The single most important contribution any of us can make to the planet is
a return to frugality*
~Robert Muller,Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations~
As we've seen, unlimited consumption, once the hallmark of the American Dream, is becoming a nightmare for us, for others and for the earth. It is eroding our environmental, social and personal well-being. We are rich in things, but poor in happiness.
Every time we spend money we consume resources, so saving money links directly to saving forests, other species, mineral resources, water and ultimately the earth. For ourselves, and for all life, we must return to financial sanity.
The good news is there is a growing trend towards "fiscal fitness." Tired of debt stress and clutter, people now want more time for family, friends, fun and community service. They are discovering that a high quality of life does not depend on an ever higher material standard of living. Consuming less is becoming a path to personal freedom and social revitalization.
~*^consume less for the sake of all life^*~
~*~Diana
