Consumerism is Destroying our Planet. We can Save our Planet if...

[Heather MC]

There are basically 3 Halloween stores within less than 0.2 mile radius of each other in my area.
Every single store is well stocked with shyt. Why do we need so much junk, and useless items in our society who decided, That Halloween was just supposed to be over priced costumes
And plastic junk🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️

And why is it that there is a food shortage, there is a medication shortage, but there is no end to all the shyt manufacturers have for sale in retail stores.

And for God's sake what's with all the plastic pumpkins. You can literally purchase a real pumpkin if you want to decorate with that. And then if at the end of the season you decide to throw it in your backyard it will just decompose and no harm will be created to the environment.

We are drowning in shyt that manufacturers keep insisting we purchase.

WHY? We all need to somehow collectively wake up, from this insane consumerism nightmare. Because what happens to all of that plastic once we throw it away?

They keep saying they don't know how to solve climate change. The truth is they don't want to.
They don't want to stop making DUMBASSplasticShit and insisting we go buy new stuff for every holiday every 3 months. they want us to buy stuff we don't need that we throw away a few days later just to turn around and do it again.🤦🏾‍♀️

We could choose to wake up tomorrow and just go one week without being the consumers they want us to be. What if we decided to go one month where all we did was buy food for our family. Purchase gas when we need it. And nothing else for 30 days.

Could we do that as a collective society. Go 30 days and not be one of their precious consumers?

Or what if once a week, once a month, for an entire year. we just stop buying their shit that would be 3 months out of the year where we didn't spend money on anything but essentials.

I know it's hard I keep telling myself I'm going to go 30 days and not buy anything.
And then I'll see something that sparks an idea or an idea will pop in my head and then I go OK I'm just gonna buy this, but that's it.
I quit being a consumer.
I'm done. I will buy food and gas for 30 days. Maybe from now until January.

I Choose to
Let Amazon rot
Let target rot
Let all these billionaires that keep taking from us crumble.
They're hoping to leave our planetShit and they find somewhere else to go with their penis ships.

Wall-E was a warning. Our planet is being crushed by the garbage that these manufacturers make, an advertisers are constantly trying to entice us to purchase.

I can't even use a calendar for tracking my monthly cycle without an ad popping up. Why does a calendar app need commercials?🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️

The best way to save our planet is to stop using their crap and all that plastic.
But they won't stop producing that crap as long as it's making them money.

If we decided to stop, it would force them to do better and to protect our environment.
Are we so well trained, and such perfect little puppets that the very idea of not buying crap for 7 days, or 30 days for 3 months, Is just too hard? I am speaking as a collective society. not just individuals doing our small part.

They tricked us into believing you have to give people something on Christmas to show you care.
But be honest do the people you care about really need unnecessary shit from you on Christmas?

I have become unaccustomed to shopping in retail store due to the pandemic.

Now every time I step foot in a shopping center, I am amazed at ALLLLLLLLLLLL THE SHIT
it's too dayum much unnecessary shit

[yourout]

1. Population control is the taboo subject everyone is afraid...

to mention.

The planet can not support much more human population.

[Kaleva]

4. Mother Nature is going to address that issue soon

There's no reason to be afraid of acknowledging that .

[Heather MC]

17. This is true mother nature has a beautiful way of removing the vermin from this planet

And restoring herself to her natural beauty.

The thing is it's about to happen faster than we realize
Because lake Mead is probably below a 1000' right now
And once it drops below 950 and the lake Stop's plumping water to 5 States

Where are those people in the Southwest and corner of the United States going to run to question
They've driven the price up on real estate so much that most people won't even be able to afford to move

And the United States is not prepared to help that many people.
The government in lake Mead wouldn't even help a man that was stranded in the middle of the water because in the 2 weeks it took to get his boat out of the water the water had receded to the point where the boat was now 200' from the lake.

And all the government agencies told that man was if we move your boat will charge you $20000
And this man had no money. It took compassion and love to get that man's boat back in the water not money. Because someone posted his story on YouTube other YouTubers came to his rescue and helped him.

But half the country believes helping someone is socialism

[relayerbob]

7. Yep, actually it can probably

realistically handle about 2 billion if we were all at basically US standards of living, maybe 50% more with careful management of resources

[Doc Sportello]

2. Righteous rant

America's consumer culture has become a driving (or THE) force in the global economy so shopping is touted as a patriotic act by the promoters. They don't care about the effects on the planet or on people whose consumerism is like slot machine players getting their fix from the bells and lights, only the consumers' drug is the temporary high they get from a purchase. As long as the corporations and the wealthy keep getting more and more wealth the owners are happy. It's a completely unsustainable system, but hey as long as they are making money now they don't cares about the future of the planet, or their fellow humans.

[Heather MC]

16. 💜💜💜 All of their advertisements are sending out one message

Spend spend spend spend spend.

And they never run out of shyt to sell us.
new gadgets
yearly phone upgrades

[NJCher]

3. I never buy that crap

I am in complete sympathy with your rant.

I also don't buy "stuff" because then I'd have to store it. My hobby/work is gardening, which is very space intensive. All the storage around here is taken up with seeds, plants, hoes, rakes, shovels, etc., plus other types of tools.

I also don't like the look of things like plastic pumpkins. It's insulting to gardeners! Buy our pumpkins and then either eat them or compost them.

[Heather MC]

10. I garden as well

I think that's why the plastic pumpkins bug me so much.
Yeah I really don't step into the big stores either I typically purchase things if I need them from craigslist 1st or I'll go to a thrift shop
Or depending on the item I will go to a retail store but I always just get that 1 item for example if my son needs swim trunks.

I just go to the store and I buy a pair of swim trunks I don't buy 20 other things with the swim trunks.

Thank you💜

[Happy Hoosier]

22. Things is....

A carved pumpkin lasts a few days… and takes a while to clean and carves. With foam pumpkins, I carve them once and can use them many times.

I always carve one real pumpkin though. Tradition. And I like to roast the pumpkin seeds!

[Kaleva]

5. For that to work, you'll have to convince the entire world to go along

Some greenhouse gases can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years so it could be generations before climate returns to normal. Assuming that it can

[Heather MC]

15. It's sad that we would have to convince people to save this planet

This is our only home. And you are correct but it's very sad that people think we can just take it for granted and nothing bad will happen. Or if it does somehow they will survive and everyone else will die around them I don't know.

We just need to force the billionaires that are controlling our economic destiny. To do things differently and we don't need everybody participating for that to happen

They are constantly watching us and constantly constantly rating and figuring out what we want and what we like and polling us all the polls that do

If we stopped consuming like just 30 to 40%. They would figure out ways To make better choices to try to entice us back. Maybe they would be more willing to invest in the environment. Maybe there would be actual investment in real recycling.

Who knows but doing nothing and throwing our hands up and saying it's never going to happen
We're already doing that it's not working

[Kaleva]

44. I believe there's no stopping climate change and we all need to prepare to ad

A person could spend all their time trying to prevent climate change and if they fail, they could be screwed, along with their kids and grandkids, because they made no effort to adapt

[IbogaProject]

6. An activist NYC minister is on this

The Church of Stop Shopping
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverend_Billy_and_the_Church_of_Stop_Shopping

He's now shifted to The Earth Church, adding the climate crisis to anti-consumerism.

[Heather MC]

14. That's awesome more people need to do that not just religious people because then

It becomes a religious thing and then it becomes a this particular religious thing and then
People won't do it because I'm not part of that religion🤦🏾‍♀️

I know it sounds stupid but I was raised by Jehovah's witnesses trust me I know a thing or 2 about minority religions
Jehovah's witnesses don't celebrate any holidays and people consider them extremely weird because of that.

I am not a Jehovah's witness and I never was because I never got baptized because I thought it was a stupid religion. However I am grateful that I never really got into all the holiday crap because I always saw it as unnecessary it was one of the things I agreed with with with the very religion.
I do love Halloween though, but the most I'll ever do is buy some devil horns for 6 bucks and then just tell everybody I'm satan and where whatever close I already own🤣🤣🤣

[Boxerfan]

8. Agree totally

We may be too dumb to exist as a whole. Overpopulation and food stresses will make for a great way to bake to death slowly.

I found my oversize smiling plastic pumpkin by the side of the road in a pile of dumped garbage. Sadly very common around here.

I've had it 16 years & have yet to change the bulb inside. Doing my part just a little. I also eat the leftover candy-somebody gotta take one for the team.

[Heather MC]

12. I have a vacuum cleaner I saved from the trash man 15 years ago

It still works I never change the filter I just clean it and keep reusing it

My neighbors were really nice stuff in the garbage once a week for the big trash pick up
I've driven around my neighborhood and found Dressers, beautiful perfectly good chair, Is a really nice fire pit all of it just thrown on the sidewalk for the garbage

[roamer65]

9. What amazes me is the amount of garbage families generate.

Every week I see most of my neighbors put out totes right to the brim with garbage.

I put mine out usually once a month and I recycle only metal and glass.

People are wasteful and there are too many of us.

[Heather MC]

11. My condo association picks up the garbage 6 days a week

And we still end up with overflow they can't take it all

[roamer65]

13. ...and I swear to the cloud beings that at least 30 percent of my garbage is junk mail.

I’m not surprised by what you see.

[Heather MC]

20. OMGOOOOOOOOOOODDD the junk mail

it's insane🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️

[flvegan]

18. Go vegan.

Been doing this here since like, 2004.

bUt I lIkE StEak GoNNa hAvE a BaCon...blah blah blah.

[Heather MC]

19. I am not only vegan, My diet is 100% artificial chemical-free

Last edited Mon Oct 17, 2022, 12:47 AM - Edit history (1)

And I just purchased 5 acres of land that we plan on having a home built on
Am I goal, Is to have 70 to 80% of the food I eat come directly from what I grew myself.

Right now I'm at about 20 to 30% Because my backyard is very tiny it's only 12' by 25'
I still managed to grow 17 tomato plants and 7 cucumber plants, a couple of chili peppers
other stuff I attempted but it didn't fruit.

[flvegan]

30. Amazing.

Literally, amazing.

[Heather MC]

33. Really?

What is amazing? I'm just curious
thank you

[flvegan]

34. Ummm

"And I just purchased 5 acres of land that we plan on having a home built on
Am I goal, Is to have 70 to 80% of the food I eat come directly from what I grew myself. "

That, is amazing.

[Heather MC]

37. Cool thanks

We weren't trying to be amazing we were just doing what we were told which is plan for retirement.

I just started gardening because I wanted to learn how to grow stuff like my grandmother used to do.
When she died I realized I never asked her any secrets about that. So to honor her I learned how to grow a little garden and turns out I really like it.

The only reason I asked you what was amazing was because I don't see it as that. Because I know the journey that I went through to grow things and to buy land. A lot of the journey has been more frustrating than amazing lol. It took us 4 years to find the land, 10 months to purchase that land it wasn't easy to find. And it's going to be a fight with the county to get the the property the way we want it.

They do not make it easy to break out of their system and live sustainably on your own.
We're just taking it one step at a time. Getting the land was a huge hurdle.

[flvegan]

40. Allow me...

"It took us 4 years to find the land, 10 months to purchase that land it wasn't easy to find. And it's going to be a fight with the county to get the the property the way we want it."

That right there, is pretty amazing, at least to me, hence the comment. I'm working on being close to self-sustainable from a garden standpoint, but you're way ahead of me. So, yeah, IMO...amazing.

[Heather MC]

41. Thanks, What are your goals?

Maybe I can help

[flvegan]

42. Well

I live in Florida. Our soil is shit, but I have full sun and lots of compost. I have a great support group for growing, but I've been buying land a little bit north to hopefully make something in the next 5 years. What I have now is very simple. What I'd like is to have a dozen acres at least, and the start of a community garden.

[Heather MC]

43. That's a great goal!

We started out thinking about thinking about a community tiny village.
We originally were going to build a tiny house on wheels.

However, the piece of land we finally successfully purchased, It's considered in the critical area and it comes with a lot of environmental restrictions. Number one being only 1 house on the property of 5 acres.

And also because it's in the critical area we decided to toss out our idea of a tiny house on wheels. We did find a house with a really nice floor plan That's only 900 ft² so we're still staying tiny.

And it's a really cute little house.
We are going to make a space for at least one of our friends to be able to bring in a tiny house allegedly.

We're hoping by the time we have our house built no one will be paying attention to us in a year so after it's done and we can bring her tiny on the property.🤞🏾

[Happy Hoosier]

24. Ah yeah...

Was expecting a post like this…

[flvegan]

27. Awesome, that means you have a great response!

[Happy Hoosier]

29. Mostly...

It’s that sanctimony is not a very convincing argument.

If you are vegan and enjoy it… great.

I like vegetables, because I have to watch my carb intake, which limits my choices some.

Cheers!

[flvegan]

31. Sanctimony?

[Happy Hoosier]

36. That's the way thos came from off to me...

“
bUt I lIkE StEak GoNNa hAvE a BaCon...blah blah blah.”

And yup, I love steak AND bacon.

[flvegan]

38. So then

you don't seem to actually give a shit about the environment, based on those personal preferences. Have you read ANYthing about animal agriculture and the environment? Nah, didn't think so.

Good to know. Funny about your other posts on this thread, you know...being bullshit. But whatevs. Should I ask here if I'm sorry that reality offended you?

[tritsofme]

21. Bah humbug.

[Heather MC]

26. What a wonderful response to Hey maybe we should take care of our planet better

Thank you
Have a lovely
💜

[Happy Hoosier]

23. I guess...

You’d really hate my yard in October!

[Heather MC]

25. There's absolutely no need to take what I wrote personally OK sweetie

And it's your yard it's your choice. I wouldn't have an opinion about it one why or the other.

And it's not about hating anything so please please please don't associate me with that word thank you.

It's about what's best for our home, our planet.

We are one race, hurling through space on a giant rock together. We're all trapped here

Maybe we should start having a conversation about taking care of it

Does that sound like hate to you?

That's your decision not mine

[Happy Hoosier]

28. Sure...

Here’s the thing… it ain’t plastic pumpkins that are really the problem. It’s the refusal to transition away from hydrocarbon energy sources. Even in this forum, many people shy away from making that most necessary transition. But that’s a bigger issue that just buying shit.

[Heather MC]

32. Actually it's not the buying that's the problem, it's the constant manufacturing of stuff

We don't need
And the Waste all the useless junk creates.
It's asking the question, Why is it that they never run out stuff, and useless plastic crap.

but food, medication, and Gas are constantly under threat.

I'm honestly not understanding why you're upset, It sounds like we are at least an agreement there is a problem that only humans can solve.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Or night I don't know where you are lol.

[Happy Hoosier]

35. I'm not upset at all...

And yes, we ARE in basic agreement. But I admit, Halloween is my favorite time of year, and I very much enjoy decorating for it. I even build my own animatronics. So I am a tad defensive of that particular hobby.

[Heather MC]

39. I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!

Last edited Tue Oct 18, 2022, 12:07 PM - Edit history (1)

It's why I was in 3 holiday stores I was just looking for some devil horns
This year I'm just going to wear a really pretty dress that I already own. And then I was just gonna put some devil horns with it. I'm just telling everybody I was satan if they ask me lol

The year I was 7 months pregnant I went dressed as Hester Prynne, And I went around the party handing out a business card that said "village holistic Virgin healer" My husband just laughed at me the whole night🤣🤣🤣

In the plastic pumpkins I was at Kohl's department store the other day with a friend
And right at the front of the store was this huge display of just plastic pumpkins.

I'd never seen so many pumpkins in one spot that were fake it kind of it was weird.
I don't shop in big Box stores like Walmart, or BJ's or I can't remember the others because they're not near my home.

I'm just not used to seeing so much retail junk. It's quite overwhelming

[Happy Hoosier]

45. That sounds awesome...

I admit I am always a bit shocked by what people will pay for cheap costumes they will typically use once and then throw away. I usually make my own costumes, and reuse them, often in modified form. My daughter is hard core goth, so for her Halloween costumes are often just everyday wear!

I am conscious of waste. This year I made a "moving tombstone" almost entirely of scrap I had in my garage.... a bit of old wood, the motor from an old broken Christmas decoration, Some insulation foam from a repair/remodel. Came out great!

Old timey "blow-mold" plastic decorations are enjoying quite the resurgence in popularity right now. These are the old molded plastic decorations that have a light bulb inside. They were very popular from the 50's-70's. Thety are enjoying a "nostalgia" moment right now. I have a nostalgic soft spot for them, but I don't have any. All my pumpkins are the carvable foam type that look almost like a real pumpkin. It lets me have a dozen or so Jacks decorate my yard throughut the season. The one real pumpkin I carve every year is always a portrait of my daughter. She is 20 now and I have carved one of her every year since she was 18 months old.

[hunter]

46. It's nearly impossible for an affluent person to reduce their own environmental footprint.

The smallest environmental footprint I ever had was as a mentally ill young man living in the garden shed of a PTSD Vietnam war vet.

The problem isn't "consumerism." It's work ethics. Most of us suffer jobs that are not making the world a better place but we keep working anyways. In a lot of ways our society forces people to do that.