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Materialism: A Global Threat
Part Two of Two

The Anthropocene is a geological epoch dating from the commencement of human impact on Earth's ecosystems

"The accumulation of anthropogenic mass also relates to urban development, along with its associated environmental implications, already witnessed worldwide," says Emily Elhacham, one of the authors of the Weizmann Institute of Sciences study. I hope that raising awareness would promote behavioral change that would enable finding a better balance point. Every step in this direction will have a positive effect.

Look at the carbon footprint of our gadgets, the internet, and the systems supporting. It accounts for about 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions and is predicted to double by 2025. It's possible to cut down emissions with one less email or avoid unnecessary photo sharing on social media – it may seem like an insignificant reduction from one individual but then add billions of such small actions together.

Big technology companies claim they are going green or set goals for carbon neutrality but they rarely encourage people to spend less time on social media or order fewer products. Rather advertising and marketing models convey powerful messages that reinforce the motto: create and consume more.

This irrational savage materialism is ingrained so deeply with traditions and cultural symbols as well. In the United States, Thanksgiving is followed by another carnival called Black Friday. During this ritual, long lines of customers hit the malls and often get injured or trampled – but people are convinced that it's an effort worth the trouble.

In the age of the Anthropocene, humans may feel entitled to pin hope on technology to fix any problems so that they can continue to do what they are doing. Faced with the accumulation of long-lived plastic in the environment, for example, a spurt of innovation led to biodegradable coffee cups, bags for life, and reusable straws. But while it is true that a sustainable growth model that includes our environment has a much larger potential to persist, we need a different approach to sustainability that addresses our massive consumerism.

The oceans may be acidifying faster today than they did in the last 300 million years, primarily due to human activities. The adaptation of organisms in response to pollutants is a complex phenomenon. In the long term, a sustained increase of anthropogenic mass would lead to the loss of habitats through physical dislocation and alteration of habitats such as contamination with pollutants resulting from the production and disposal of anthropogenic mass. Research indicates that negative effects induced by pollution often worsen over multiple generations, although the coping mechanism varies in different species.

The rapid depletion of natural resources and biodiversity is not a normal evolutionary race that nature is used to. While some species can certainly adapt to the changes taking place in our environment, humans are no longer mere species that follow Darwinian evolution but a much larger force that has come to drive evolution on this planet.

While there is no proof that we will destroy ourselves, there are clear indications that we ignore the effects at our own peril. For example, some of the mass extinctions in the Earth's history are related to the acidification of oceans. The oceans absorb about 30% of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, which in turn increases the ocean acidity.

Human life will be negatively affected because of the loss of the many ecosystem benefits and services provided by biological diversity," says Loria. "For example, water pollution may affect provisioning services, such as food and water, by causing a reduction in food diversity and/or in its quality and safety. Widespread degradation of ecosystems threatens the conditions of life on Earth, in particular the long-term survival of our own species.

Our impact on the planet is much is deeper than carbon footprints or global warming. It points to a future where the effects of anthropogenic matter will take over – if it hasn't already – the identity of the Earth and its life. In the face of this, humans themselves might lose out in the evolutionary race.

If we continue to behave this way, we might not survive very long," he says. "On the other hand, our actions could be a source of pride for our descendants if they sustain a civilization intelligent enough to endure for many centuries to come.

But humans may not be lucky enough to flee from their own actions. Unless, we offer a different vision rooted in reduction of consumption, the flames of our own materialism might consume both us and our Pale Blue Dot.

By Santhosh Mathew 20th May 2021


For it is not so strange that we must die
All that arises, ceases to exist
This, just this
Is the end of suffering

- The Dhammapada