To pinpoint one or even two key problems at the core of environmental issues is quite a task in my opinion. Although difficult, my thought process behind this question lead me to believe that consumption is a major concern. Originally I wanted to say increasing population was a big problem, but most of the growth is occurring in developing countries, yet they use the least amount of Earth's resources. I thought about how everything concerning environmental degradation is tied back to resources...toxic wastes, technology, global warming, environmental refugees, etc. With this in mind, I realized that the only way to produce less of these byproducts is to consume less. This leaves the issue in the hands of the developed countries.

I felt that the piece we were assigned to read called Confronting Consumption had some great insights to this perspective and it served as an eye opener. Today and especially into the future, our society is greatly influenced by the economy. We're always coming up with new technologies and advertisements are continuously convincing us that we 'need' more. This is our biggest downfall because as Princen, Maniates and Conca state, "only the individual can judge how to participate in the economy," and we seem to be easily persuaded by the market. Our standard of living is so high that the wealthy have up to 5 or 6 cars for one family, and compromising our comfort seems to be out of the question.

According to the authors, it is not in activists' best interests to pursue reform for producers because it is the consumers that drive demand of products. I couldn't agree with this more. Not that putting restrictions on producers is bad, but it's not as effective. This ties in with the second question as well because the solution comes down to an individual level. Living more efficiently and consuming less is one of the best ways to take action. It may seem like you're hardly making a difference, but once again resources are the core of everything.

As a final point, I had a conversation with a gentleman the other day who was a journalist from India. We happened to discuss these same issues, and I made mention of my concern regarding the percentage of the world's resources that the United States consumes. He said that he was concerned too. Throughout his life he has seen his country strive to have the same lifestyle as those in the US, and it saddened him that the people of India could not learn from our mistakes of overconsumption. We're moving in the right direction, we just need to assert our efforts in the right place.