Grand Valley State University's Liberal Studies department hosted professor and author Juliet Schor to speak at their annual Synoptic Lecture event. Schor is the author of several books, The Overworked America, The Overspent American, and Born to Buy. The title of her talk was "Getting to Sustainability: Work, Consumption, and Everyday Life."
She began her talk by presenting some statistics to show that in 1960 the average US household spent about $9,000 in consumer products, not including food and utilities and transportation. By the late 1990s that amount almost tripled. The other major factor that changed based on surveys over the past four decades is that despite people spending more and in some cases earning more, their happiness is less. This, the author said, is a dilemma, since the dominant culture says that consumption brings happiness. According to Schor, income and happiness peaked in 1957, even though income has tripled since then. Japan has had a 5-fold increase in income since WWII but happiness rates didn't go up. The trends are reflected globally, with income going up happiness goes down or stays the same.
Next, the author addressed what she called the connection between consumers and ecological disaster. Part of the unhappiness with increased consumption is because people have begun to realize that their level of consumption has negative outcomes for the natural world and that contributes to the overall unhappiness. One of the outcomes of over-consumption is the increase in human disasters, of which Hurricane Katrina is as an example. She also talked about the problems related to global warming and the potential disasters that may come if serious changes do not occur. The Living Planet Index measures biological systems, the author states, such as earth and water systems. According to the data, the function of those systems declined by 40% between 1970-2000. Human behavior over the past 50 years has done more harm than all previous human impact, according to Schor. Our "Ecological Footprint" is another indicator in measuring what impact humans have on the planet. One example that she gave was to say that if the rest of the planet lived like the US, we would need 4 additional planets, which was one indicator of how unsustainable US lifestyle is. Since 1978, humans have surpassed the bio-capacity rate, according to Schor. This means that we consume more than the planet can produce or replenish.
In a global sense, there is what she calls "The IPAT Formulation", which is "Impact = Population, times Affluence, times Technology." Our population is increasing, per capita consumption is increasing, and our environmental impact is increasing. The issue in the US is not population, but the level of consumption. One of the paradoxes from the IPAT is that affluence creates ecological degradation and reduces human well-being.
Schor then talked a bit about the fact that there are some positive trends and ways of thinking that are beginning to influence these dynamics of consumption and ecological impact. She cited the ideas presented in the book Cradle to Cradle, the research into bio-mimicry, what she called "closed loop systems", and eco-effectiveness, which she described as green technologies. However, Schor made it clear that these changes are not sufficient to create sustainability.
To put this in terms that working people can understand, Schor said the average worker in the US can produce more each year because of technology and other factors for a productivity dividend, which economists claim is good. However, in practice this has meant that we have overworked Americans who produce more and more in the work force and work longer hours, with more stress and less time with family. This is what she called the "cycle of work and spend." Employers like long hours, there is constant competition for fulltime jobs and the shift from just a male "breadwinner" to both parents working more. Many Americans justify it by buying into the belief in affluence, so we spend more. When we spend more there is greater debt and we live a life on a treadmill.
Schor then told the audience to think about why so many people end up on the consumer treadmill. What we feel about what we have in terms of possession are somewhat relative, because we compare ourselves to others - family, neighbors, co-workers, and people we see in the media. She calls what we are living in now "the new consumerism." The average American aspires to more and more, and with women into work force, the rising centrality of media and worsening distribution of wealth, this has resulted in a larger gap between the haves and have nots. Another factor, according to Schor, is that there are a whole lot of consumer goods, which are becoming very cheap - cell phones, clothes, and TVs. We are all consuming more and more manufactured goods. In 1991, about 33 pieces of apparel was purchased per person, by 2003 we are up to about 52 pieces per year. This is a growing trend with almost all manufactured goods - furniture, consumer electronics, ceramics, toys, sporting goods, and jewelry. All of this has a great impact on the earth, which results in an accelerated destruction of the natural world.
Schor concluded by saying that we all need to do what we can to reverse these trends or to, as she says, "downshift our lives." She suggested that people visit several organizational websites, such as one she is involved in called the New American Dream. She also suggested Bioneers, Climate Action, and Co-Op America. Schor said that these organizations can help people begin the process of reversing the affluence trend.
