Researchers published the Meadows report on 1er October 1972. They predicted a collapse of the world if humanity did not put a brake on growth. Since then, hundreds of reports from scientists have alerted us to the dangers to the planet from the effects of overconsumption and rampant production, which lead to environmental destruction and cause climate change. In particular, in recent years, researchers have warned us that our unreasonable use of fossil fuels will lead us towards catastrophic scenarios (drought, lack of food, scarcity of water, etc.).
And what have we been doing for fifty years? Nothing. Or almost nothing. So little that we are in the midst of the predicted disaster with a temperature rise of 1.09°C in 2021 (on this subject, read the IPCC report of February 28, 2022) with effects on reducing the availability of water and food resources in Africa and Asia in particular, on health (emergence of new diseases, increase in thermal stress, etc.) and the distribution areas of animal and plant species. Climate change is happening faster than expected. On Monday, this same IPCC concluded that “without an immediate and drastic reduction in emissions in all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C [sera] out of reach “.
We’ve let the auto industry sell us big, gas-guzzling vehicles for years. Motor transport is one of the most polluting human activities. The fashion for luxury vehicles with powerful and efficient engines (I don’t understand why we always want to drive so fast and often even dangerously) and sports cars that backfire (I don’t know how many vehicle owners modify their pipe exhaust to imitate racing cars…) contributes greatly to the deterioration of air quality and to global warming.
We have let go of other behaviors that contribute to the degradation of the environment, I am thinking among others of these outdoor wood-burning fireplaces that pollute the atmosphere with contaminants that are also harmful to human health. Moreover, in the suburbs, having an outdoor fireplace is not a good idea, since, glued to each other, we receive the annoying smoke from our neighbors.
It may be nice to drive a sports car that makes a lot of noise and pollutes or to be around a wood-burning fireplace, but are we going to continue our consumption habits as if there were no no impact on the environment and on our own health? Are we going to let ourselves go in this way until our extermination?
Is it possible to think of the populations of the countries of the South who are suffering from climate change because of our frenetic consumption of rich and privileged countries (up to 3.6 billion people live in contexts of vulnerability to climate change according to the report IPCC 2022)? In fact, can we move on to something other than always consuming, as if happiness lay in the acquisition of materials and goods that are often useless?