The Consumer

Currently there is a prevailing theme that the endless need for consumption is the reason the environment is in a state of decay. There has been a long history of folks who have contended that all manner of helpful items, especially in the energy world, have been suppressed. There are those who believe that such conspiracies are nonsense, that the world of commerce operates simply by the supply and demand model and the greedy consumer’s demands are the root of all the problems. Curiously the answer to that is to tax the consumer, I’m unclear how taxing the consumer helps anything at all but folks accept that as the second best answer to all, war being the best.

One of the great plans, there are no conspiracies only plans, is the plan of “planned obsolescence.” Have a look at this interesting documentary and then ponder how you, the consumer, were denied certain high grade products because disposable ones were better for business. Then consider how each and every company, who’s sole job is to increase shareholder value, has a conflict when it comes to making things that may end up putting them out of business due to quality.




I am one that can’t stand the endless process of replacing things I already own, and I despise shopping. I find the notion that I am just a tool to increase shareholder value for corporate fictions used to generate income for others appalling, as each company spends more money trying to find ways to extract money from me rather then creating a better product or service. But even worse to me is the idea that because I cannot build my own more fuel efficient car, I’m legally prohibited from doing so, I must accept the blame for damage done by the car I buy, as well as every other item I “buy.”

Recently the City Of Los Angeles waged an all out campaign to get people to conserve water. There were rebates, demands and even fines associated with the process. I said to many at the time, watch they’ll cry a loss of profits and charge more. Sure enough, the City Of Los Angeles rewarded the foolish consumer with increased rates due to less water consumption. For winning, the folks got a tax.

Is it really the consumer that is the problem, or the light bulb maker that decided that filling landfills is a better way to fill the pockets with money?

Why are the lowest folks on the monetary totem pole so willing to shoulder the blame for everything, including things they cannot control?

We “consumers” are blamed for our car choices, which destroy the planet. As far as I know I have never designed car. In fact, it takes years to design and build a car and I am not involved. When the car is designed by people other then me, an all out assault is done through sophisticated marketing to get me to buy the car lest the company go bust if I don’t. Now, prior to 1995ish the purchase of the car was never met with a warrior class of self righteous do-gooders telling me my purchase was wrong, evil, killing the planet. Do these do gooders know how cars are made - or light bulbs?

If you didn’t know about the “planned obsolescence” plan, are you really an informed consumer?

Is anything you learned about consuming true?


EDIT: I recently learned that the move to “green” bulbs has zero to do with energy savings, but in fact the light bulb industry was seeing profits decline. Keep in mind they are very, very, very capable of making an incandescent light bulb with excellence energy efficiency and long life - they just do not want to. So the horror of mercury vapor light bulbs - a dead one is an EPA hazard, at very high prices is not to make us all feel better about saving the planet (isn’t dumping toxic mercury in landfills a problem?) but about profits. One should always remember, a reduction in energy usage will ALWAYS result in an increase in the cost of energy. Always. Why? Profits are down...

This brief talk on the origins of the “fossil fuel” myth is interesting for one reason. The idea of oil coming from dead dinosaurs was made up, and, 100 years after that myth we have experts, full-blown, knock-down, drag-out experts in a myth?




follow that oil revelation up with this: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-june-16-2010/an-energy-independent-future