Are Your Holiday Purchases the Children of Carbon Emissions?
On the heels of COP26, a lot of folks have been talking about their disappointment with the world leaders who set underwhelming carbon reduction goals because they aren’t going to get us where we need to go fast enough. But this burden doesn’t just rest on government bodies and businesses. Consumerism, the preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods, is a very real contributor to climate change.
According to the article, “Consumerism Plays a Huge Role in Climate Change, “A new study published in the Journal of Industrial of Ecology shows that the stuff we consume—from food to knick-knacks—is responsible for up to 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and between 50 and 80 percent of total land, material, and water use.”
With COP26 fresh on my mind, my holiday gift-buying well underway, and black Friday mayhem on the calendar for many courageous Americans, I want to ask my Thanksgiving guests:
- How can we exercise our hard-earned buying power in environmentally responsible ways that don’t kill the economy?
- When it comes to utility services, how can our utility providers better educate us about environmentally responsible options and behaviors?
- What’s the one thing we can do in 2022 move the needle towards being more responsible consumers?
I look forward to hearing about your energy-related conversations, as well. Happy Thanksgiving!
For more context, check out this article Are Your Holiday Purchases the Offspring of Carbon Emissions? | Energy Central
Sign in to Participate