The Problems of Climate Change Cannot Be Solved By Consumer Societies

One of the fundamental contributing factors to the many global problems threatening civilization and the living creatures of this planet, is simply our grossly unsustainable level of over-consumption and the consequence production of waste (Cairns 2010; NAS 2010a,b,c). The rate at which the rich countries use up resources is far beyond that which can be kept up for long, even more so as the ability to mass consume spreads to the emerging middle classes in developing nations (reviewed by Moriarty and Honnery 2010). Yet it appears that many people totally fail to grasp the magnitude of the threats posed by increased consumption which is necessarily accompanied by the emissions of green house gases and other poisons and wastes (Meinschausen et al., 2009; NAS 2010a,b,c). The reductions required to prevent catastrophe are so big that they probably cannot be achieved within a consumer-capitalist society the very foundations of which rest upon economic growth and the devouring of resources (Moriarty and Honnery 2010).

As detailed in three major monographs published by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS 2010a,b,c), by the year 2050, the U.S. must cut carbon emissions by 50% to 80% from 1990 levels. However, even if these drastic cuts were immediately put into effect, the U.S., would still produce 200 billion tons of greenhouse gases between the years 2010 and 2050. To survive, extremely radical change to our systems and culture are necessary (Cairns 2010; Meinschausen et al., 2009; Moriarty and Honnery 2010).

Here are three lines of argument leading to this conclusion.

It has been estimated that even if average economic growth was limited to 3%between now and 2080 and, given the expected 9 billion people who may populate the planet and all of whom would be expected to consume, then total world economic output each year would be 60 times as great as it is now (reviewed by Moriarty and Honnery 2010). Such multiples rule out any chance that technical advance can solve the resource and environmental problems while enabling us to go on pursuing ever-more affluent lifestyles and economic growth (Moriarty and Honnery 2010).

The magnitude of the required reductions in rich world per capita resource use and environmental impact is therefore enormous, and far beyond those that any plausible technical advance might achieve. The main claim underlying tech-fix optimism is that renewable energy can substitute for fossil fuel use and sustain growth and affluence societies (reviewed by Moriarty and Honnery 2010). This assumption is seriously mistaken(Moriarty and Honnery 2010; Trainer 2008, 2010a). The amount of renewable plant required to provide the quantity of energy that would be needed through a winter month in 2050 would require annual investment some 30 times the present proportion of world GDP (Trainer 2010a). This would leave untouched the most serious problem, which is what to do when there is no sun or wind for several days in a row.

Now these points only make it clear that the present situation is grossly unsustainable and will result in world wide catastrophe (Cairns 2010; Moriarty and Honnery 2010; NAS 2010a,b,c Trainer 2008, 2010a). Capitalism thrives under almost every political system, and all developing societies consume. Indeed, it could be said that since growth and profit require consumers to consume, that there is an obsession with raising levels of production and consumption all the time, as fast as possible, and without any limit. In other words the supreme, sacred, never-questioned goal of a capitalistic-consumer society is consumption which results in economic growth (Trainer 2010a,b); and with consumption there follows excretion, and the growth of these waste products threatens the very foundations of civilization.