The Most Pressing Challenge: Consumption

I felt like it was difficult to pinpoint ONE main challenge facing the global environment. I tried singling out one factor within the IPAT equation that I thought was the biggest challenge, but noticed that all factors were equally significant. An increase in technology can either be good or lead to higher rates of finite resources depletion. An advantage of an increase in technology may, however, be favorable if they reduce the amount of resources we use altogether. Significant population increases are most likely to occur within developing nations where consumption levels aren't particularly high. An individual in the United States has a much larger carbon footprint than another in Darfur, Sudan. Therefore even if the population increases in Sudan, the consumption of resources of one person in the United States would completely overshadow any changes per capita consumption in Sudan, which will probably be negligible. In my opinion, if I were to choose the most essential letter in the equation, it would most likely be "A". Affluence is the most pressing challenge facing the global environment. Even though my classmates think population is the most pressing issue at hand, I think that regardless of population, HOW MUCH we consume is far more relevant.



I felt I connect to the “I am, Therefore I Pollute” article. It is difficult to believe that one person's actions could potentially be saving the world. Many consider recycling to require leaving one's comfort zone. However, even the smallest of changes, like my buying a recycled toothbrush and using energy saving light bulbs at home, on a larger scale, have the potential to influence environmental outcomes and positively restructure and alter lifestyles in the future.