A Gift for Planet Earth: Changing the Psychology of Consumption

Every day of the holiday season, we are reminded that giving is good for the soul. Giving to a worthy cause is not seen as a sacrifice, it’s something you want to do, especially when the feeling you get in return is so rewarding. But, we are also reminded to buy stuff-lots of stuff, for everyone on our holiday lists. While I don’t have anything against stuff, per se, I do think most of us probably have too much of it. So, here’s an idea. Instead of buying lots more stuff, give a little holiday cheer to the planet-by buying and using less all year long.

All the stuff we eat, wear, and use was grown, sewn, manufactured, transported, and will be disposed of using electricity. Today, that electricity is produced principally by burning coal or splitting atoms. In the United States alone, coal-fired and nuclear power plants make up more than 70 percent of all the electricity used. Further, although the US accounts for only five percent of the total world population, we account for about 26 percent of the world’s total energy consumption. But, we in America continue to want things-lots of things-and we don’t like anyone else telling us we can’t have what we want-no matter how much energy we have to use.

This holiday season, many are advocating green giving. But, this is nothing new. In fact, we’re riding the third “green wave” since I began my career in the electricity business. Even as green waves have come and gone, Americans have been on a decades-long bender. We’ve gotten drunk on our affluence and we’ve been consuming like there’s no tomorrow. But, why? Why do we think we need all this stuff? Is there something inside us, something intrinsic to being American, or just human beings, which makes us want more?

From McMansions and king-size master bedroom suites, SuperGulp sodas and Grand Slam breakfasts, to Hummers and private jets, we in America-and increasingly, around the world-want more of everything big even as our families shrink in size. Why? Does a bigger house necessarily mean better people live inside? Does driving a Hummer really mean we’re “like nothing else?” Are we using more and bigger to attract and retain possible mates? To warn potential rivals, guard our territory, or conspicuously display our plumage? In this, the 21st Century, are we really that tied to our evolutionary past? We may be. But consider this: Three hundred million Americans tied to an ancient genetic code, or modern cultural one, is one thing; a few billion additional people from around the globe joining us on our drunken-sailor spending spree is quite another.

Meanwhile, the air we breathe is filled with the unintended consequences of the Faustian bargain we call affluence, even as our appetite for stuff keeps on growing and the train of consumption keeps on rolling.

So, what do we do? Use renewable energy? Ideally, yes. But, we must also recognize that solar and wind, in particular, are low density energy sources that require more resources to capture the same amount of beneficial use as high density sources like coal or nuclear. Tell the rest of the world they can’t have what we have? Of course not. We can’t hold back progress or put the genie of globalization back in the bottle. Nor would we want to. Indeed, their progress holds tremendous promise for the future of the human race. But, things clearly can’t continue as they are without paying the price of potentially irreversible planetary impact.

So, technological advancement must also be accompanied by a new way of thinking about how we live. We need a new psychology of consumption. For the last 50 years, America has been the cultural role model for the world. We’ve exported our music, movie stars, TV shows, fast food, and soft drinks. Now it’s time to change our cultural tune. Instead of exporting lifestyles of the rich, famous, and acquisitive, we need a Corps of Ordinary Ambassadors that embody a new American sensibility–and responsibility–about consumption.

A new idea-Think: Less!-can shift the cultural conversation and pay long-term dividends for our planet. We have to stop believing that consuming less is a sacrifice. Instead, we should think of it as a form of philanthropy-a gift we willingly give to ensure the health and well-being of our planet.

Thinking “less” is a tall order, however. Our economy, our jobs, and our culture are all infused with the more, more, more mentality. Although we must eradicate this cultural DNA, if that’s what it is, we must also manage the economic impact on job dislocation and disruption by investing in green jobs and building an efficiency-driven, green industrial complex.

Only a new psychology of consumption will prevent us from repeating the failures of the past. Unless Think: Less! is integrated into a person’s ethical and moral fabric, virtually all initiatives are doomed to failure by the indignant accusations of hypocrisy, the sheer weariness of sacrifice, the inertia and anger brought on by guilt, or the vicious cycle of rising and falling energy prices that inevitably leads to a loss of interest in conservation.

Think: Less! is not a solution to all the world’s environmental problems. It can, however, reflect a psychological and cultural inflection point. In order for each of us to change our footprint on the outside, we have to change our imprint on the inside. If three hundred million consumers can lead the charge, maybe the other few billion will follow. It’s happened before.