| The Costs of Consumption | 0 comments |
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18 Jul 2005 @ 11:16, by swanny
The Costs of Consumption
The costs of consumption, thats an odd phrase, almost an oxymoron,
almost but perhaps not quite. Yet what does it really mean?
What are the costs of consumption?
I suppose it means that the current status quo is not a "free ride" and that
there are "expenditures" to the standards and qualities of life we now enjoy
and perhaps take for granted.
Yet exactly what are these costs then?
I suppose the problem is that we don't really know.
We don't really know or appreciate the full cost and consequences of
our consumptive life style. Why? Perhaps because we are only beginning
to wonder where this "free ride" is coming from and maybe where is it
taking us and we perhaps are wondering and questioning
whether that is some where we want to go.
Its kind of the "fly now, pay later" plan and the "bills" and invoices are slowly starting to find us. Find us in the form of little quirks and oddities in the environment and that out of control feeling of.... well....
I don't think we can "control" things to that degree any way but we should try to
manage and "order" our consumption more logically and responsibly.
Money has been growin on trees but we're running out of trees and well whatever.
So then how are we going to calculate the costs of consumption.
It is a very complex situation it would seem. To many factors and variables.
Yet if we don't do this sort of full cost accounting then should we be surprised when the environment starts sending us bills or signs in the form of global warming and early hurricanes and arctic ice cap melts and vanishing species and etc etc.
Is there a correlation? duh Homer what do you think? Well more or less. I suppose it goes back to that law of physics. You know the "chickens are coming home to roost" or maybe its just common sense or reality like you don't usually get much for nothin or you get what you pay for and if we're not paying the full or hidden costs of consumption then walla.
So these costs are somewhat hidden then which doesn't quite go with our take the money and run mentality. Hidden costs? Well let someone else pay them like....? These hidden costs make consumption somewhat problematic.
Why are these costs hidden but perhaps because they are part of the whole and we don't usually think in terms of wholes but only our own particular part at the time.
So doing full cost or whole cost accounting would therefore take some time and effort to determine if there are any hidden costs and what they might be, sort of looking for the environmental fine print. I suppose that is just due diligence if we want to be good stewards of this planet.
Anyway here are some links if you want to investigate further.
and have a "whole" day.
sir
[link]
http://www.free-eco.org/
[link]
http://www.greenatworkmag.com/magazine/between/04janfeb.html
[link]
http://www.greentaxes.org/
[link]
http://unpac.ca/economy/consumers.html
[link]
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Category: Entrepreneurs, Money Making
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