A Consumption Manifesto.

December 2, 2003 11:16 AM

A Consumption Manifesto.
posted by monju_bosatsu (11 comments total)

Article Eleven. Use less patchouli, you're stinking up the joint.
posted by xmutex at 11:22 AM on December 2, 2003

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Been hearing the above since the start of the 90's. (Ultimately, recycling simply results in the manufacture of more things.) What a psychological deploy by manufactures?

ZachsMind said it well.
posted by thomcatspike at 11:27 AM on December 2, 2003

Is this a post about tuberculosis? If it is a post about tuberculosis, I don't want to read it.

Uh oh. No time anyway. I have to go to Wal-Mart and buy a bunch of disposable plastic tableware and some disposable kitchen furniture, maybe a disposable couch too, for an upcoming party.......it saves on cleaning. My fucking dry cleaning bills are a fortune... You know how much it costs to dry clean a couch? You don't want to know.

And man! - Why don't they make bigger SUV's anyway? It's like Bill Ford never has heard of the word jumbo... My Expedition's not big enough to carry all the crap I have to take to the dump to be burned. Maybe I'll just do it in my back yard.

Oh well...... Carry On.
posted by troutfishing at 11:56 AM on December 2, 2003

See also this thread on the politics of consumption.
posted by homunculus at 12:53 PM on December 2, 2003

Decent article, but pretty thin. Internal combustion engines are bad! Well, electric cars produce pollution too, they just do it at the power plant. The staying closer to home bit is probably a more helpful point.

Where were the parts about "enjoying the heck out of" one's simplified life? And how, again, does my life become simple without a car?

/naysaying
posted by scarabic at 3:46 PM on December 2, 2003

Where were the parts about "enjoying the heck out of" one's simplified life? And how, again, does my life become simple without a car?

From the side of devil's advocacy: it becomes simpler when you combine it with Article Two, which says to stay close to home. If you work within walking distance, you don't use your car. If you shop within walking distance, you don't use your car.

I happen to live within walking distance of everything I need, quite by accident I assure you, and it is indeed quite simple and a hell of a lot better than driving everywhere.
posted by Hildago at 5:49 PM on December 2, 2003

Nice work if you can get it close to home.

Unfortunately, some of us can't.
posted by oflinkey at 7:54 PM on December 2, 2003

I currently have a heinous commute but have, in the past, lived within walking of school, work, friends & food, etc. It's definitely the way to go. I'm working very hard on getting everything back to that state, but it's quite difficult. Right now, I have groceries/bar/cafe/doctor/hardware store all within walking, but the job & laundry require a car. Not even a public transit option. The other problem is that the "friend" elements in the equation keep moving around the state/country for various job upgrades. One day, I'll finally be able to walk to everything in my routine, but by then, I won't know anyone in town anymore.
posted by scarabic at 12:44 AM on December 3, 2003

Well, electric cars produce pollution too, they just do it at the power plant.

This is true, but it is not nearly as much pollution.

First of all, power plants are much more efficient than gas engines, and have much better emissions equipment.

Second of all, some power plants don't produce any pollution (i.e. solar and wind power).
posted by fishbrando at 1:50 AM on December 3, 2003

Indeed, oflinkey; but if you can, it's worth doing, even if that means paying a bit more rent or living in a slightly smaller place. It makes your life simpler and frees up a surprising amount of time.
posted by Mars Saxman at 9:42 AM on December 3, 2003

First of all, power plants are much more efficient than gas engines, and have much better emissions equipment.

Power plants aren't necessarily more efficient than engines, once you take into account losses. A coal or oil power station will waste two thirds of its energy in generating electricity.

Second of all, some power plants don't produce any pollution (i.e. solar and wind power).

Best to stick with this one. If you want to take responsibility for your own emissions, rather than buy a little power plant of your own you can buy enough green certificates to cover your electricity usage.
posted by biffa at 4:08 AM on December 4, 2003