Alan Durning's 'The Conundrum Of Consumption'

When is enough, enough?
Do you think the way we consume products effects the Earth’s survival? In “The Conundrum of Consumption”, author Alan Thein Durning believes the consumer behavior and the detrimental effects of consumption are destroying the world’s natural environment. Durning discusses that consuming goods has become the way of life. Durning exposes that our appetites to live the American Dream have taken a toll on the earth’s natural environment, and suggests that there are other paths to fulfillment. Durning suggests the earth’s sustainability depends on the reduction of consumption levels and realizing that materialistic things do not defines one’s happiness. Durning says we need to address the problem of consumption because it
is harming our natural environment. Earthjustice is devoted to protecting the planet for us and for future generations to come.
“Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations and communities” (www.earhjustice.org/about_us/). Earthjustice headquarters are located in Oakland, Ca but they have nine regional offices around the country and employ over 150 people. Founded in 1971 as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, but changed name to Earthjustice in 1997. Earthjustice works with the courts to protect lands, forests, parks and wilderness areas, to reduce air and water pollution, to prevent toxic contamination, and to preserve endangered species and wildlife habitat. This organization has provided legal representation at no cost, to more than 700 clients. E. J. commitment to protecting the planet is by enforcing the law.
Durning says consumption causes pollution; similarly earthjustice is working towards controlling pollution by enforcing strict rules on mercury emissions from cement kilns.
Durning mentions people selfishly abuse goods, which in turn hurts the environment. “The consumer society’s exploitation of resources threatens to exhaust, poison, or unalterably disfigure forests, soils, water, and air” (200). People are responsible for the harm that is caused to the environment. Pollution is one of the effects of consumption. Earthjustice says cement kilns are infecting our air, water, and food with mercury. Cement kilns release mercury into the environment through the cement-making process. Mercury is released in the air then goes to the water, which then infects the fish, which makes it unsafe for people to eat. In order to control mercury pollution, E.J. wants the Environmental Protection Agency to set mercury standards for cement kilns. E.J. Wrote a report called, “Cementing a Toxic Legacy?” about how the EPA has failed to control mercury pollution from cement kilns. E.J. prepared this report “to release the results of the EPA’s data summary to the public, to highlight the health and environmental threats posed by specific kilns that appear to have especially high mercury emission levels, to expose what appears to be gross under- reporting of mercury emissions from cement kilns, and to call upon EPA to act swiftly to set appropriate standards for this toxic pollutant” (“Cementing a
Toxic Legacy?”). E.J. is trying to slow mercury pollution by enforcing proper regulations from EPA, requiring cement kilns to test for mercury emissions, and to make this info available to the public. If EPA fails to regulate this toxic pollutant it will increase and continue to poison our air, water, and food.
Durning says we have to slow consumption by executing the law; similarly earthjustice went to court and prevailed against a plan that would have allowed more mercury from power plants.
Durning suggests stricter laws and taxes will help get us closer to accomplishing our goal. “Scientific advances, better laws, restructured industries, new treaties, environmental taxes, grassroots campaigns – all can help us get there” (201). With some assistance from the U.S. government, consumption can definitely be controlled. In a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. E.J. fought to force the EPA to obey once and for all, the conditions of the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act states, “Passed in 1970. Indentifies various classes of pollutants harmful to people and to the environment and sets rigid schedules by which the EPA must issue regulations to bring various kinds of activities into compliance with its standards” (www.earthjustice.org/about_us/how_we_work/). So, earthjustice went to court to fight against the EPA and won. “A federal appeals court ruled…that a rulemaking by the EPA violates the Clean Air Act by evading mandatory cuts in toxic mercury pollution from coal-and oil-fired power plants” (“Court Says EPA Rule Allowing More Power Plant Mercury is Illegal” paragraph 1). This victory has forced the EPA to abide by the law, and hopefully the ruling will show that you may duck and dodge the law, but it will eventually catch up to
you.
Earthjustice truly cares for the health of the people and the environment. They reach for change by fighting for stricter environmental laws. This organization is very effective because they have scored hundreds of victories on behalf of the environment. E.J. has been successful and will to continue to be successful in the future because they are fighting for important just causes. They fight for causes that promote a healthy environment for present and future generations to come.
If you want to live in a clean and beautiful world then you have to help take care of it. We cannot leave the problem solving entirely up to the experts, we all have a responsibility for our environment. Many people may argue that one person doesn’t make a large difference, but in actuality each individual’s contribution greatly affects our environment. All the dangers that exist are because humans have caused them. But every one of us, whatever age can help do something to slow down and reverse some of the damage. We must learn to live in a sustainable way. As population expands and lifestyles change, we must keep the world in good condition so that future generations will have the same natural resources that we have. Our natural resources are running low, and we must work together to save them and the earth from ruin. We all have to share the earth, it’s the only one we have!